Girish Thakkar

Girish Purshottamdas Thakkar was a force: brave, determined, and joyful.
Born in 1945, he was the second of seven brothers, though, to many in his family in the U.S., he was considered the patriarch of the Thakkar family. Thanks to his fierce spirit, intellect, and a touch of rebelliousness, he got his engineering degree from LD College of Engineering in Ahmedabad, India in 1968 and, when America came calling for educated immigrants, he was the first in his family to take the plunge.
He got married in 1970 to his wife Nita and saw the U.S. as a land of opportunity and promise.
He always embodied the American spirit and lived the American Dream. He designed critical highways and worked on nuclear power plants, but nothing made him prouder than being an entrepreneur. He and his wife, Nita, owned and operated numerous small businesses over the decades, including two laundromats, a card & gift store, and a Baskin-Robbins ice cream store. As recently as a few weeks ago, he was still serving his clients through his own engineering consulting company, Schematic Design.
He instilled in many a true belief in themselves and to think outside the box. With a strong compass toward justice, he sued the state of Tennessee in the 90s to have his foreign engineering degree recognized in order to start his own company. He served as an advisor and helped many family members immigrate here from India. Never one to shy away from an adventure, he lived in many states across the country – New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Texas. He finally settled in Knoxville, Tennessee with his family, where he felt a great sense of community.
Throughout his life, he was dedicated to his work and his family. So, it is fitting that he passed away peacefully surrounded by family near Arlington, Virginia, the city where he got his first engineering job in the United States in 1972.
He is survived by his wife Nita, son Vatsal, daughter Mona, daughter-in-law Annalise, son-in-law Shamir, and grandchildren Vaden, Annika, Zara, and Shayan, as well as many beloved brothers and their families.
Services will be held at Click Funeral Home at 11915 Kingston Pike, Farragut, TN 37934 on Monday May 15 at 10 a.m. followed by a private family cremation. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the American Society of Civil Engineers Education Fund at https://www.ascefoundation.org/education-fund, an organization that helps the next generation of civil engineers succeed.