Dr. Sharad K. Mehta

Dr. Sharad K. Mehta (known as Pappaji in the family) was born in Gujarat, India, in 1931. He lived in Mumbai from his childhood to medical education. Born to a pragmatic and idealist father, Pappaji took his mantle of ideology and Gandhian nationalism while witnessing India’s freedom struggle during his teenage years. Even as a 14 year old high schooler, he took the responsibility of creating a poster every morning for his high school lobby which would reflect the previous day’s events from the freedom struggle, often signing the poster with his own blood to show his willingness to sacrifice for the country. After finishing medical school, he had to make a difficult decision whether to continue his medical training to become a surgeon or join the struggle and serve his country. He tactfully fulfilled both ambitions by joining the Army Medical Core and served for six years in the Indian Army. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain after his last posting in Assam defending against the Naga Insurgency. After leaving the army, Pappaji served as the chief medical officer at two large chemical complexes in Baroda, India, for 25 years. During his tenure, he found a new calling as a champion of industrial and occupational medicine in industrial environments which involved dangerous chemicals. He established a dual use hospital as well as served as the Disaster Management Team Medical Lead for the city of Baroda. He wrote many papers, authored the first occupational health reference book for Indian students, and presented at numerous national and international occupational health conferences. He quickly rose through the administrative ranks and became the secretary general of the Indian Association of Occupational Health. After retiring, Pappaji immigrated to the United States in 1993 and lived in Springfield, Virginia, and Lorton, Virginia, since then. Even in his daily life in Baroda, Pappaji continued to forge change as a respected community leader, organizer, and administrator par excellence. His reach extended from cultural organizations to Parents Teachers Associations (PTA), even resulting in a city-wide federation of PTAs including various schools in Baroda. As an artist and a writer, he had been drawing and writing from the age of 14 till his last days. He reacted and responded to family or world events in the only way he knew, which was using a pen and color pencils. In 2013, he published a book titled Ninad, a collection of poems and essays he wrote between the ages of 14 and 84. His biggest achievement was being married to his amazing wife Manjula for 67 glorious years. Together they raised a wonderful family that now includes three children and five grandchildren. At the age of 22 while in the medical school, Pappaji met his spiritual guru in Mumbai. From then on, every moment of his life was dedicated to his guru and he truly had no worries in life. Pappaji lived his life to the fullest under his guidance and grace. Finally, when it was time, he peacefully left us to continue his onward journey with his guru. Services will be held Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 11a.m. at Miller Funeral Home, 3200 Golansky Blvd., Woodbridge, VA 22192.

Tributes

Dr. Sharad K. Mehta

June 26, 2022