Niruben Patel was born on January 8, 1943 in a small village named Ena in Gujarat, India. She was the second oldest of seven children, where she had one older brother and five younger sisters. Her father, Zinabhai Patel, and mother, Parvatiben Patel, were landowners/farmers in Ena Village. Niru was married on May 12, 1962 to Ishverbhai Patel. Together they raised two sons, Jagdish Patel and Vijay Patel.On November 11, 1976, Niruben and Ishvarbhai Patel, along with their two young children, landed at Newark Airport embarking on their journey to create a better life for their family. Their first five years in the United States were spent in Boonton, NJ where Niru worked at a carbon factory, Ishvar worked at a rivet factory, and their kids went to school.After saving enough money and feeling more confident in their abilities, the family moved to Big Spring, TX and purchased the Ponderosa Motor Inn on Gregg St. in 1981, becoming one of the very first and few Indian families in the small West Texas town. Together, they began their fight to sustain and grow their family business. However, economically the stakes were against them with the price of oil being $10 a barrel, and travel in and out of the small town minimal.The motel business was slow, so their younger son, Vijay Patel, decided to work outside of the hotel to bring in another source of income for their family.Vijay started working at Pizza Hut, next to the motel, as the delivery boy. From there, he worked his way up to become the manager by learning all aspects of Pizza Hut processing. He remained the manager for 5 years bringing in steady income to help operate and expand their motel business. Their older son, Jagdish (Jay) Patel continued to work at the motel to take the load off of his parents, and in turn grew his business aptitude.Niru loved watching Hindi TV shows and Family Feud, reading, and completing word searches. She was kind, generous, and her family was her pride and joy. Food was a serious subject in her family and cooking was an absolute joy to her, especially making delicious Indian sweets. Together with her husband, they managed to grow various vegetables in their garden behind the hotel for over 39 years. What started as a small passion project, turned into years of growing and gifting food all over the town and across the country to distant relatives. She enjoyed attending her grandchildren’s school and sport events for many years.Niruben Patel, passed away at the age of 77 on the night of October 16, 2020. She is survived by her husband, Ishvarbhai Patel, older son, Jagdish Patel, wife, Mamta Patel, and four grandchildren – Shivalli, Sagar, Tulsi, and Shiv. Vijay Patel passed away on May 7, 2015 while in surgery at the age of 50 years. He left behind wife, Anjana Patel, and their two daughters, Shivalli and Tulsi. Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 23, 2020 at Nalley-Pickle & Welch Rosewood Chapel at 11:00 AM. Please wear a mask if you plan to attend.\tArrangements are the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home and Crematory. Online condolences can be made at www.npwelch.com,
