Gaurang V. Mehta

Gaurang V. Mehta, of Yardley, PA passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 11, 2024. He was 83. 

Born in 1940 in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India, Mr. Mehta was the second child and oldest son of the late Virendra and Shriprabha (Desai) Mehta. His father was a history teacher and his mother a homemaker. 

Mr. Mehta graduated from high school in 1957 and received bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and civil engineering in 1961 and 1965, respectively. He often spent summers during his childhood in Gopnath, a small seaside town near Bhavnagar. These sojourns by the shore instilled a love of watching the sunrise, sunset, and the water in moonlight that lasted his whole life. 

Gaurang emigrated to the United States in 1966 to study at the University of Tennessee,  Knoxville, graduating in 1968 with a master’s degree in engineering. After graduation, he moved to Baltimore to take a job with Ewell, Bomhart, and Associates. He remained with the firm until 1984. He subsequently worked for Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Sverdrup Corporation, and Jacobs Engineering. 

For professional reasons, Mr. Mehta relocated his family to the Philadelphia area in 1986, moving first to Langhorne and then to Yardley, where he had lived since 1992. In addition to the many years he spent working in Baltimore and Philadelphia, Mr. Mehta’s expertise in bridge design took him to such far flung locations as Hawaii, the Philippines, Boston, New York City, Puerto Rico, and Bhopal, India. He retired in 2005. 

The Baltimore Orioles won the World Series in 1966, Gaurang’s first year in America. He remained a fan of the team ever since. Johnny Unitas was still playing in those days, and Mr. Mehta saw him lead the Baltimore Colts to many a victory at the old Memorial Stadium. As far as he was concerned, there was nobody better than Johnny U. 

Although a great fan of baseball and football, Mr. Mehta’s favorite sports were golf and cricket. Even during his final illness, he was able to spend a few hours watching the last two rounds of the Masters. 

In his spare time, Gaurang enjoyed going for walks, photography, and traveling. In recent years, he and his wife made several cross-country road trips. He was an avid reader, especially of history books and mysteries. He appreciated many types of music, particularly those in the Indian classical tradition. He was a keen amateur genealogist, tracing his family’s lineage through multiple generations. He also liked watching and feeding the various species of birds that called his backyard home. But perhaps his favorite activity was simply relaxing on the swing on his patio, where he would while away countless hours during the spring and summer. 

Mr. Mehta married the former Padmaja Parghi in 1972. She survives him, as do their two sons,  Varad Mehta of Yardley and Sohum Mehta of San Diego, CA. He is also survived by his older sister, Rohini Vohra of Boulder, CO, his younger brother, Jyotindra Mehta of Houston, TX, several nieces and nephews, and numerous cousins. 

Services were held privately in accordance with the family’s wishes.