Ranjanbala B. Patel

Ranjanbala Bipinchandra Patel, a beloved wife, sister, mother, and grandmother, lost a brave battle with a long illness and peacefully passed away in Kingwood, Texas, near Houston, on Oct. 13, 2022. She was 72.

Ranjanbala, known fondly by her community as Ranjan, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, but raised in Nanyuki, Kenya, a vibrant rural colonial outpost in the pre-independent East African country. Ranjan would recall her happy, simple childhood as the eldest of three siblings, including Amita Vyas, who now lives in India, and brother, the late Nilesh Patel, from London, UK.

Sheltered from the building political conflict in Nanyuki during her childhood, Ranjan received an excellent education. Her academic achievements later led her to school in Nakuru, Kenya, and Sunav, India. She exited her formative years with an unshakeable love for learning and a spirit of determination, attributes that she fostered throughout her life, defended with resolve, and even instilled in all her children.

After Ranjan completed high school in India at age 16, she returned to Nanyuki as an accomplished young woman determined to share her knowledge. Bucking norms, which discouraged beautiful young women from pursuing professional jobs, Ranjan almost immediately took up a teaching post at a local elementary school as a math teacher. She furnished these school children, many of who were disadvantaged, with her unique logical capability of breaking down problems to make them easier to solve.

In 1971, at age 21, she was introduced under arranged marriage customs to Bipinchandra Patel, a young man from a nearby Kenyan market town, Karatina. Bipin shared Ranjan’s intellectual curiosity—a desire to learn and understand—and balanced Ranjan’s logician approach to problem-solving with his vibrant and practical creativity. The couple immediately forged a connection and accepted each other as lifelong companions. Their loving, cherished partnership spanned five decades.

The couple, which recently celebrated their 51st anniversary, have three children, Reshma, Amisha, and Shilpa, and a cherished puppy, Loki. But in their home in Karatina, they also raised as their own their nieces Roopal (deceased) and Sonal. The couple raised the five girls with dedicated attention, mentorship, and constant love and support, instilling in them their creative resolve and teaching them that tenacity and resiliency have value despite bouts of tragedy and adversity. These values proved imperative when Ranjan, Bipin, and their three daughters emigrated to the U.S. in the 1990s. Ranjan’s daughters recall her constant, kind, and active companionship, even as she suffered debilitating health issues. They remember that she urged them never to give up.

Ranjan and Bipin also closely held other children, including Meha, Bimal, Krishna, Nayanesh, and nieces and nephews from India and Austin; Minal, Tejas, and Vibha and Rishi. She was also overwhelmingly fond of her children’s partners, Pedro , Divyesh, Shilpan, Pritesh, Deepal, and Priti Patel. She was especially joyful to hear from her grandchildren, Shreena, Saloni, Suhani, Kunaal, Raj, Harshi, Pranshul, Aarav, Aria and Sahya, and Kai and Rei. Her grandchildren remember her keen interest in their activities, big and small, her encouragement, and her celebration of their triumphs. They admired her strength and versatility, despite her physical disabilities.

Ranjan’s passing leaves a tremendous hole for her immediate family, including Mina and Aruna Patel, and her extended family in Houston, Karatina, India, and London. She leaned on Kali, Ila, and Lata Patel among her Houston family, who offered overwhelming support and friendship when the family moved to the U.S. Ranjan also leaves behind several friends. One of her most cherished friendships and structures of support came from Dr. Chris Ojeih. Dr. Ojeih accepted Ranjan as a patient more than two decades ago, and had, until the moment of her passing, offered a rare brand of compassionate and loving care that kept her vibrant and hopeful.

Ranjan’s legacy, however, lives on. In her latter years, even as her illness debilitated her vision, she worked with an extraordinary group to translate the Bhagavad Gita into Gujarati, so the wisdom of the holy book could be set as braille, allowing the blind to interpret it for themselves. Her children recall that the Gita served both as her purpose and path.

One verse in particular—Chapter 18, Verse 33—underscored her life’s extraordinary march toward Dhṛiti. Dhriti, she would explain, is the determination that underlies the inner strength needed by our minds and intellect to allow the self to persevere, despite difficulties and seemingly insurmountable impasses, on the journey toward spiritual liberation. Ranjan’s journey continues onward. May her teachings and memory remain with us always.

Om Shanti Shanti

Please join us in celebrating her life on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Houston, Texas, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

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