Lalit Shah's Legacy

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What a great man. What a great dad. Truly, you were more than a dad to me - you were my neighbor, you were my mentor, you are my champion 🏆. For sure, you are irreplaceable. I remember you for all your good deeds, your humorous nature, and loyalty to family and friends. I learned so much from you - how to think, how to analyze and how to be. I am forever grateful. I love you Dad ❤️ and miss you dearly 🙏.

HIS CHILDHOOD. My dad was a rock 🎸 star. I heard stories of him spending late nights (and early mornings) studying when he was a school-age boy. He enjoyed tutoring other children and was very proud of his hair style💈.

A South Bombay state of mind. From Marine Drive 🌊 to Churchgate 🚂 to Chowpatty ⛱️, dad knew every little corner. The best sandwich 🥪 walla, paan 🥬 walla or late night street vendors! Always better with friends and family - he was blessed to have both.  

Dad ended up graduating from a distinguished college where he focused in commerce and economics. He took the Chartered Accountant (CA) exam 📝, and earned one of the top scores in India 🇮🇳 ! Yay, go Dad!

COMING TO AMERICA. Easier said than done. Imagine leaving everyone you knew, the culture you were comfortable with, the language you speak and the food you eat - all for a dream 💭. The odds 🎲 were against you - but that didn't matter. 

Mom and dad immigrated to America ✈️ 🇺🇲 - San Francisco, CA, where dad completed his MBA while working as a busboy to help make ends meet. Every few years, he would remind us that he made the best ice cream sundae in town 🍨 😋. They moved to Rochester, NY and never left. Here, dad worked for a Fortune 500 company and a local accounting firm. So many memories and friends from the R.T. French Company 🌭. Incidentally, I never really went to the Public Market before, but nowadays I try to go - only to remember you and it's always a perfect drive because we pass Mustard Street in the city. I look 👀 to the left and think of you.

And you started a beautiful family 💖 - mom, nana, me and you!

SOLE PROPRIETOR - HIS BUSINESS. In the late 1970s, dad established an accounting practice to serve the local community. From modest beginnings, I remember you preparing countless tax returns with paper, pencil and erasure ✏️ in the living room. He was brilliant when it comes to analyzing numbers and offering business strategies to his clients. He always had a knack of thinking outside the box 📦 and offered a different take on any given project or opportunity.

It wasn't just his knowledge that separated him from his peers. Dad had a connection with people - people of all walks of life. He would make everyone and anyone be his center of attention (a great quality and something I've tried to duplicate). One thing is for sure though - for better conversation and to bring out his classic smile, just add chai ☕️ or samosa.

His firm in Penfield was one of the more successful accounting practices around. People trusted 🤝 him. It is hard to go around town without bumping into someone who knew him. A quick 5 minute stop at Wegmans would almost always turn into 30 minutes. Dad's big smile seemed to be contagious on the people he met. He was a man with a huge heart - and a social butterfly 🦋. When people moved 🚛 on from Rochester, so many kept my dad as their accountant. Much respect! One after another, people tell me how they have trusted dad with their taxes for 30+ or even 40+ years!

TRADITIONS WITH FRIENDS. Some traditions that you had with friends cemented those relationships. I want to live my life like that. Like your 10:00a coffee ☕️ with your friend when you wouldn't even pick up my phone calls! Or having a samosa and chai on the weekend when it wasn't tax season. So many more stories I hear these days of you and your friends. One thing is for sure, you were someone special to many. 

FAMILY GUY. Dad lived for his family - especially mom, my brother's family and my family. Living two doors down from my parents put a little twist in our lives - kinda like the living arrangements of the TV show 📺, Everyone Loves Raymond. Mom generally gives us space, but dad is most often in our face (like Raymond's mom). Similar to the TV show, dad never missed an opportunity to give his advice (his advice qualified to 99.9%). He had a habit of self-inviting himself into our living room in the evenings and eventually dozing off 💤 comfortably in our easy chair. As much as I would not like to admit it, I will miss his constant nagging and unwanted advice. And please, come one more time to relax at our home - I promise that I will make your favorite popcorn 🍿!

A WHOLE NEW WORLD. Mom and you were genius 🧞‍♂️ in raising nana and me. Delicately balancing western values 🇺🇲 and eastern traditions 🕉. Being a parent myself, I now realize the challenges. We can inspire our kids to give importance to a way of life, but at some point we trust our children to make the best choice in life 🐣. So much peer pressure out there.  Even so, nana and I lived our lives in a way to respect lifestyle, stay connected with our roots, understand the bond of family, and education. Thanks to you 🙏, mom and dad - both nana and I have been able to make the right choices in life. 

Dad, I'm lucky that you gave me the road map 📍 of life. So, even though I sometimes feel lost, I can reach deep inside my soul - and I become confident knowing what I'm supposed to do. 

HIS LUCKY CHARMS. Dad loved his grandkids - his lucky charms 🍀 - so much, that's 100%. My older son loved challenging dada in math games from the very beginning. In the last few years, dada dropped everything on his schedule for priority #1 - pick up my youngest son from the bus stop  - everyday at 3:00p. It brought him so much joy to feed the kids after school, play the most simple games, or just hear their voice on the phone. 

And the love ❤️  went both ways. I will always remember the images of my youngest son taking dada's hand - without being told - to help provide balance and security when dada's mobility declined. I will forever remember my oldest son's final moments with dada at the hospital - the emotions were real - the tears 😢 too.

ROLE MODEL. The community is grateful for the decades-long service, and in many cases multi-generations of family members trusted you. This speaks volumes. I am especially thankful for the close mentorship of hard work ethic and family values 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 - all of which has been critical in transitioning your business to the next generation. Thank you.

You are such a great role model, dad. You accomplished so much, and have given so much. We smile 🙂 when thinking about you. Your charm and dad jokes made everyone laugh except me. What I would do for one more of your jokes - and I promise to belly laugh 😂 this time! So many great stories.

MY EMOTIONS. As we look forward, I am constantly reminded of your presence. So many emotions run through my head. I take comfort and solace knowing that you are in a better place now 🕊️ looking over us.

Sometimes I feel lonely and lost. Sometimes I break down and cry 😭. Sometimes I day dream. Sometimes I find it difficult to fall asleep 💤. I wish you were close to me. I'm glad you are close to me. 

MY BEARD. It always irritated you (and mom) when I grew my beard. I was trying to look manly. What a joke! You always preferred that baby skin. When I shaved 🪒 for you in the hospital - it brought tears of joy. I kissed you on the forehead - I will remember that moment forever. Dad, I'm going to shave to my baby skin *on your birthday* from now on - because I know that I will forever be your beta.

MY WHITE HEART. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ All four of us together - like the good old days. There are those moments of time that stay forever. Your last days dad and your last hours ⏳️ will always be close to my heart. At your most vulnerable moments, you only thought of us - til your final breath. Stay strong dad. You are going to a better place. We fall to your body in disbelief - praying. 🕉 All four of us together - for the last time. ❤️❤️❤️🤍 My white heart.

MY BOSSES. My supervisors from my Citigroup days said it best. They told me that I have now joined a club that no one wants to be in. One joined the club in 1980, a second in the 2000s and a third - many years ago. They remind me that the pain 💔 will never fully go away, but raising our own children somehow fills a lot of the void left from losing our fathers. They confide their feelings to me -  initially it was sad 😥, but then they say it turns to happy memories - memories that become more profound as they are retold as stories to their kids and grandkids. 

I know that your presence will always be with me, dad. I feel fortunate for the times that my boys spent with you. My stories with you dad - our stories - will be retold for generations to come.

MY MOM. I worry most for you, mom. You are so loved, mom. You are needed too. I love you ❤️. If I am speaking truthfully, then I too feel lonely now at times. I know it is difficult, but we will push through together. Promise. 

LOVE YOU. Dad, you really did live life to the fullest. You were always a glass half-full kind of person. And there wasn't a better person to laugh with. I hope you know that I love you so much! ❤️ ... and miss you dearly.

🙏 Micchami Dukkadam 

મિચ્છામિ દુક્કડમ

1947-2024