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Bay’s constant ray of sunshine

Jiten Patel dairy owner b April 11, 1953 d May 16, 2022 Contact Us Do you know someone who deserves a Life Story? Email obituaries@dompost.co.nz

Every morning Jiten Patel would wake up, turn to his wife Bharati and say: ‘‘Yes, this is another day of my life, let’s enjoy it.’’

A good weather day or not, Patel was Oriental Bay’s piece of sunshine and one of its most colourful characters, having owned the Oriental Bay Store for 30 years, retiring in February.

Jhinabhai (Jiten) Patel died in his sleep at his Wellington home on May 16, aged 69.

Mr Patel, as he was always known to his customers, was one of those rare people who has an impact on you in the most positive way.

Aside from your nearest and dearest, I always think if you meet one of these bright sparks of joy in passing, you’ve been dished a gift. I met Mr Patel when I started university in 2008. Ten years later he became my neighbour, and a friend.

City life is busy, we are all guilty of nodding a quick ‘‘Hi’’ and continuing to walk. Mr Patel, however, would make sure you couldn’t. Even if rushed off your feet, or you weren’t in the mood for small talk, his smile would reel you in.

‘‘He loved his customers, he was very community focused,’’ says Bharati. ‘‘Even if he had a bad moment he would never tell anyone.’’

Even during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, and with the stress of a glass barrier in front of him, panic buyers, abusive and scared customers, it never stopped him smiling, and asking after your mum, pet, flatmate and the things he knew you cared about.

Jhinabhai Patel was born in Pipalgaban, a village in Gujarat state, western India. He was the youngest of seven boys, and son to a poor vegetable farmer.

He was schooled there, gained a masters degree in physics, taught and become a medical rep before he moved to New Zealand in 1982, the same year he married his sweetheart.

The couple celebrated 40 years of marriage on February 16 this year, the same day he hung up the shop keys for the last time. Bharati Patel says she’s enjoyed every moment of being with him.

‘‘He was a gem of a man, he treated me so very well. He never had a bad word to say about anyone.’’

And no-one had a bad word to say about him. Speaking to one long-term customer who grew up knowing him, it is easy to see Mr Patel wasn’t faking kindness.

‘‘When I was 5, for some reason I decided a pine cone would be a good gift for him. He acted like it was the greatest gift in the world,’’ said Hiria Hall Butcher.

‘‘That could have been that, but years later I asked him about it, and he still had it on his mantelpiece. He kept my silly pine cone for all those years. It means the world that he did.’’

More than anything, though, Mr Patel was a family man. ‘‘He was the rock of our family,’’ says Bharati.

He had three children, Radhika, Darshan and Shivam, and was the soft touch of the two parents. ‘‘He would encourage the kids to be who they were,’’ says Bharati.

‘‘There was never any scolding, he would just let them be what they wanted and do what they wanted. If I wasn’t happy I would always be the one to let them know. He would tell me, ‘Bharati, just let it go’ – that was his motto in life, ‘just let it go’.’’

Last August the couple’s first grandson, Nishant, was born, which sealed his decision to retire from a job he loved and debated for some time to ‘‘let it go’’.

‘‘He worked hard for the family. He told his children ‘when I have my first grandchild I’ll retire’.

‘‘He had him wrapped around his finger. He spent a lot of time there with Nishant, every afternoon would be with him.’’

Having worked in a women’s clothing store in Lower Hutt when the couple first migrated, Mr Patel found ‘‘home’’ at the Oriental Bay Store in 1992. From that point onwards, he made stopping by for essentials a joy for local residents.

There were, of course, hard parts of the job, but he had the ability to see the better side.

He once spoke about a large account owing from a customer who left the district and didn’t pay up. Instead of dwelling on it, he simply said: ‘‘He will feel worse about it than I do.’’

Along-term customer got into a troubled habit of stealing porn magazines between newspapers and, when addressed by Mr Patel, he pleaded for him not to tell his family about it. Patel grinned recalling it: ‘‘It’s not my job to dish out the secrets.’’

Bharati says: ‘‘One customer told me when he forgot his wallet that Jiten would say let’s sort it out later, no problem. I never knew he was giving away money like that.’’

He started to suffer from mild arthritis scooping ice creams over the last few years, but straight after lockdown he was ‘‘ready to roll again’’.

He didn’t just serve, but he came to know his customers and paid attention to their lives.

‘‘He had the gift of the gab,’’ says Bharati. ‘‘He would keep in touch with his customers – even if they moved overseas, he would often call them up.’’

On May 9, a week before his death, he called me out of the blue, a year since the last call and an island away in the south.

Answering a number I did not recognise, I knew in an instant the voice on the other end of the phone, and I knew he was smiling.

He asked about me, told me he had left the shop and that life was good. After five minutes of lighting up my day with his bright and bubbly voice, he said goodbye, and that he would call again. I’ll always feel lucky being one of those customers. – By Olivia Caldwell

Obituaries

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2022-05-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281921661670379

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