Kirit Mehta

Kirit Mehta, 86, husband of Jyotsna Mehta, of Dresher, PA, passed away peacefully at home on July 18, 2025. He is survived by his daughters, Pinki Mehta, wife of Sunil Abraham, and Raina Mehta, wife of Bryan VanDyke; and by his four grandchildren, Luke Abraham, Olivia Abraham, Yasmine VanDyke, and Maddox VanDyke. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jyotsna; as well as by his sister, Indira, wife of Vinod Shah.

Kirit was born in Mumbai in 1938, the youngest child of Dhirajlal and Nilam Mehta. Kirit's grandfather, Shri Revashankar Jagjivan Jhaveri -- one of India's leading businessmen and National Treasurer of Congress, a movement that fought for India's independence-- was a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi and their family home, Mani Bhavan, became the headquarters for Gandhiji's movement from 1917 to 1934. Gandhi and Shrimad Rajchandra -- Kirit's granduncle and one of the most consequential Jain spiritual guides in many centuries -- introduced Kirit's parents for marriage.

From an early age, Kirit was mentored by his uncle, Vasukaka (Dr. Vasant Sanghani). As a boy Kirit was mischievous and adventurous; he used to jump off his balcony as a shortcut to school. Vasukaka gave him structure and discipline about school that changed the course of his life. He attributed much of his later success to Vasukaka's generosity and wisdom.

He attended an engineering college in Jaipur and after graduation he went to work for Pfizer in Mumbai. He met Jyotsna in 1964 and they married in 1965. They had a uniquely glamorous engagement for their day: they drove around Mumbai in Jyotsna's car and ate at stylish restaurants for a year before they married at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Their daughter, Pinki, was born in 1966. Two months later, Kirit left for a graduate program at Villanova. Although leaving his new family was difficult, Kirit had fixed his sights on economic opportunities that India couldn't offer at that time.

He arrived at JFK with little more in his pocket than sixty-five dollars and the address for the Villanova campus. Yet Kirit quickly found a circle of friends and built a new life in America. He worked as a night security guard with nothing more than a baton. Without a car, he walked miles to campus every day, including through snowstorms -- a climate he'd never experienced before. Ten months after he arrived, he learned from Air India that Jyotsna and Pinki were on a plane bound for the U.S. Ever resourceful, he rented and furnished a new apartment in 24 hours to prepare for their new life together.

Kirit completed his thesis in 1969 and found employment promptly at FMC. He designed and operated some of the earliest punch-card computer systems. As a result of his work, Kirit became a lifelong technologist. Early on, he was able to see the promise of these advancements and bought a Leading Edge computer to fuel excitement in his daughters. Later, he was a quiet force behind their tech-oriented degrees, convinced that it would be a highly sought-after skill in the future.

Kirit's second daughter, Raina, was born in 1975. In support of his growing family, he remained steadily employed at FMC, but his ambitions were entrepreneurial. He was energetic and optimistic, a big thinker who saw opportunities others didn't. He obtained his realtor license and invested in real estate. He and Jyotsna bought a Baskin-Robbins franchise. But, the inflection point in his career came when he was offered a package to retire from FMC in 1998 after nearly thirty years of service. Despite being sixty years old, he had no interest in a traditional retirement. He used the package to seed a new venture in partnership with his FMC colleague, Mahesh Jituri.

Adept Consulting was an early provider of offshore development, but as the years passed, the company grew and diversified based on the opportunities in the marketplace — in that way, it was a perfect analog for Kirit himself.

He was thrilled to be living in a time when technological progress had created exponential opportunities for advancement, for health and for learning. He was on a daily diet of news about the world, technology, business, and the markets. Eventually, he parlayed his understanding of the dynamics of the world to investing in the stock market, and that became a fervent hobby, alongside golf, tennis, and bridge.

Kirit naturally took an interest in people and loved social events. He was well loved for his hospitality and enjoyed intellectual debates and opportunities to look at the world through different perspectives. He wanted to learn from people as much as he was eager to help someone else find the path to their success. He was a paternal figure to many, a natural mentor, a supporter, empathetic and intuitive. You always left a conversation with him having learned something new. As Vasukaka had helped him, Kirit believed it was his duty to help others.

His overwhelming delight and pride in his family was obvious to everyone who knew him. He was a devoted father, a doting grandfather, and a tireless supporter. He wanted them to see the world with him. On vacations he was always ready to watch the sunrise from a mountain, to ride a camel in the desert, or to go white water rafting. But he was equally delighted to spend a weekend at home playing games and talking about the world.

Even in his mid 80s, Kirit's curiosity, conviction and his optimism burned so brightly that new neighbors and casual acquaintances were quickly taken by him. He believed the world was always changing–and that made him happy. In that sense he never grew old. To the end, he remained hopeful for whatever comes next.

Traditional Hindu services will be Friday, July 25, 2025 from 2PM to 4PM at Huff and Lakjer Funeral Home, 701 Derstine Ave., Lansdale, PA 19446.