Shirish Gatubhai Ponda's Obituary
Shirish Gatubhai Ponda passed away peacefully at his home in Tamarac, Florida, on October 10, 2023 at the age of 87. Shirish was born in Akola, India on April 16, 1936 to father Gatubhai Chhotalal Ponda and mother Mangalaben Pujara. He graduated from St Xavier’s College in Mumbai in 1957, and received an M.B.A. from New York University in 1961. In New York he worked at News Front in the financial sector, and published “12,000 Leading U.S. Corporations”, a compilation of market research on various companies, that was widely used, including by the U.S. Government. In 1965 he moved back to Mumbai, India and became head of marketing at Cadbury’s, where he developed and promoted several new products available throughout India to this day. Shirish then became CEO of International Wool Secretariat for India and Pakistan, where he built trade relations internationally and grew wool sales in North India. He received awards twice from the Wool & Woollens Export Promotion Council for his leadership. In 1980 he married his beloved wife Margaret (Peggy), and they moved together to Santiago, Chile, where he started his own construction imports business, and built it to be one of the three largest importers in the region. In 1999 he moved with his family to the U.S., first to Louisville, Kentucky, and later settling in Tamarac, Florida.
Shirish excelled in anything he put his mind to, including his hobbies. He was a table tennis champion in Mumbai and played in state-level tournaments. After moving to Chile, he and his wife Peggy took up bridge and bowling, winning many awards in both. They continued playing bridge after they moved to the U.S., and represented Florida at the national level 3 times. Shirish had a great sense of adventure and loved to experience life, traveling the world and trying various kinds of cuisines. He was a perfect gentleman, always kind, patient, and principled. He was famous for livening parties with his jokes, many of which continue to circulate, being retold fondly by his loved ones for the next generation. He had the ability to make people feel comfortable and at ease, no matter who they were, and his home was always open to all his friends and family.
Shirish is survived by his wife, Margaret Ponda, son Atul Ponda, daughter Sameera Ponda, grandchildren Mia and Logan Martins-Rivas, and sister Bharati Katar. He was preceded in death by his son Paresh Ponda and brother Bipin Ponda.
The funeral will take place on Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 11am at the Alexander-Levitt Funeral Home, 8135 W McNab Rd, Tamarac, FL 33321. We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. In lieu of sending flowers, the family is asking that you consider making a contribution in Shirish’s name to either of the following funds supporting Parkinson’s disease research:
The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF): https://give.michaeljfox.org/Shirish_Gatubhai_Ponda
The Parkinson's Foundation: http://www3.parkinson.org/goto/Shirish_Gatubhai_Ponda
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