Arvind Pravinchandra Shah Obituary (1943 - 2024)

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Arvind Pravinchandra Shah on March 5, 2024 after a 7 month battle with esophageal cancer. Arvind was born in 1943 in the small town of Wankaner, India. He spent his early years between Gujarat and Mumbai, studying Electrical Engineering and building a group of lifelong friends. In 1964 he moved halfway around the world to get his Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering at Stanford University. His first job took him to Buffalo, NY, where he worked in mainframe applications at Union Carbide. It was here he met his wife, Cheri, and started a family. Arvind’s career in Information Technology took him and the family to Mahopac, NY and then Clinton, NJ and gave him the opportunity to travel all over the world. His specialty was applications implementation and program management, an often unsung but critical corporate role. In the late 90s he spent years leading BOC Group’s Y2K readiness efforts, a highly complicated and high stakes challenge that simply had to (and did) go right. He spent the latter parts of his career advising businesses on how to select and implement the right applications for their needs. Upon retirement, he and Cheri moved to Suwanee, GA. He continued using his consulting skills, spending countless hours giving back to his community. He volunteered with SCORE, which matches seasoned business professionals with entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners. Over 16 years, he mentored nearly 400 clients and helped establish the North Metro Atlanta chapter. He was also an AARP TaxAide volunteer since 2011, where he provided free tax prep on an estimated 1500 returns. He shared his time and expertise freely, without needing thanks or acknowledgement. His colleagues universally described him as generous, reliable, patient and kind, and someone they greatly respected. Outside of work, we remember Arvind as a lifelong learner, and a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He was a voracious reader and follower of current events, spending hours each day listening to the news and reading the newspaper. His retirement was filled with activity - he loved playing golf, taking long walks in his neighborhood, participating in the Olde Atlanta Garden Club and going on hikes with the Atlanta Outdoors Club. If it was nice outside, you could find him there. He continued traveling around the world with family and friends, making it to six continents. And he was an ever present figure in his grandchildren’s lives, attending nearly every soccer game, rain or shine, regardless of location, for nearly two decades. It’s not hard to spot a common theme throughout Arvind’s life. He was tirelessly supportive of his wife, his family, his coworkers, his community. He spent his life quietly helping. He disliked being in the spotlight and shyly waved away compliments. He was happiest when the people around him were happy and he relished in their success. Arvind was an example of what we should all strive to be more of: generous, reliable, patient and kind. Arvind is survived by his wife Cheri of Suwanee, GA; children Greg and wife Mary of Alpharetta, GA; David of Three Bridges, NJ; Jeff of New York, NY and Rob of Denver, CO; and grandchildren Rachel and husband Wellford Moore of Atlanta, GA and Andrew of New York, NY. He is also survived by his sister Dina of Canton, GA. also sister-in-law, Georgia Feron. In Lieu of Flowers please plant a tree or make a donation to the American Cancer Society.