Maltiben Shantilal Visaria Shah

Malti Shah was born on August 28, 1942, in Kutch, India. She was the first child of Gangji and Sundarbai Visaria, and was followed by four sisters and four brothers. Due to economic strains, she only completed 5th grade before having to assist with the growing household. Being the first child, she was considered a second mother to all of her siblings.

At the young age of twelve she was engaged to her future husband, Shantilal Shah, and on May 7, 1962 she married. After bearing two boys, Jayesh and Niloy, the whole family moved to the United States in 1970. She had a strong will to learn, and she learned English, earned her driver’s license, and made it her goal to give back to society.

She lived in India, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Texas. Whereas for most, passing time and changing locations would make people lose touch with their friends, Maltiben made strong, lasting friendships wherever she was. People did not forget her, and she returned the love.

Maltiben was devoted to her family and to her religion. She continued her loving, motherly qualities for her entire life, always putting others before her without a single hesitation. She faced three major tragedies in her life, the loss of her mother at a young age, the loss of her adoring husband at an early age, and the worst tragedy, the loss of a son. Her faith in family and religion helped her recover after every hardship. In her later years, she was a regular attendee of Jain Vishva Bharati in Houston and furthered her focus on living a simple, minimalistic life.

Maltiben loved traveling, playing cards, watching football with her husband and sons, swimming and playing tennis. But the greatest joy of her life was spending time with her five grandchildren. Although we miss her, we will carry with us the seeds of her values and beliefs.