Mahendra Kothari Obituary

Mahendra Bhanurai Kothari passed away peacefully on January 14, 2025 at the age of 90. Born and raised in Mumbai and Rajkot, India, he lived a long and beautiful life that spanned four continents, eventually raising his family on Long Island, outside of New York City. He was qualified in India as a Chartered Accountant, but upon arrival in the US in his thirties, he quickly found that business was his passion. He became well known over the years in the Indian and West Indian communities across the country because of his business of importing Indian fruits and vegetables to those communities. In the 1980s, he was known as the "Tindora King" in Jackson Heights, and over time always stayed connected to those communities and the friends he made there. Up until the end of his life, he was still dreaming up ideas for businesses and never gave up on his passion.
For his daughters and grandchildren, he leaves a legacy of tremendous resilience, ingenuity, humor and optimism. He was never one to worry, even when the chips were down, and was a revered source of wisdom and support to the family. His greatest success was how he led his family, particularly his efforts to support his daughters to pursue ambitious careers. He was incredibly proud of their achievements and loved to talk about them.
He was beloved by those that knew him, especially his doting wife of 55 years, Indumati, who was always by his side. Mahendra is survived by his wife, Indumati, his daughters, Priti, Mira and Shefali, his brother Jitu Kothari, his sons in-law, Rafael and Christian, and his grandsons, Colin, Ravi and Dev.
A service will be held on Saturday, January 18th from 11am-1pm at Rosedale Cemetery. Rosedale Cemetery is located at 408 Orange Road in Montclair, NJ.