Died: Keki Ruttanshaw Bhote, 88, founder of the Zoroastrian Association of America (ZAA), the precursor of other community organizations that were established in North America, and an authority on Six Sigma Quality, on May 7, 2013 in Glencoe, Illinois.
Keki Bhote: committed to cause
"It is time now for those of us in the vanguard of this migration to plan on ways and means to preserve our identity and our heritage while participating fully in the American way of life,” Bhote had written in the inaugural newsletter of ZAA which he founded in 1965. He had envisioned "an open, committed, well-connected and prosperous community in North America, a community that was independent and unfettered by the strictures of the past… ZAA was perhaps a few years ahead of its time and gradually folded. However…we see the seeds planted by Keki now flowering in the form of Zoroastrian associations across USA and Canada…” noted a tribute by Rohinton Rivetna, founder president of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America. "In the 1950s and 1960s, any Zoroastrian bound for America was given the names of Keki and Mehroo Bhote to contact upon arrival. And indeed, Keki (who arrived in the USA in 1948) and his wife Mehroo (who joined him in 1955) earned this reputation from their passionate commitment to the fledgling Zarathushti community on this continent,” appreciated Rivetna.
Bhote’s contri-bution to the formation of the Zoroastrian Association of Metro-politan Chicago is recorded on their website. He was among the six signatories — the others being Kersey Antia, Godrej Billimoria, Nari Patel, Dara Rivetna and Rohinton Rivetna — who issued a letter in 1974 to "The Parsees of Greater Chicago” wherein they expressed: "Our hope is that we can graduate from the purely social interface that has characterized our contacts in the last few years. We have children growing up in a totally American milieu, who have no knowledge of the rich heritage of their great religion... It is important that we begin to attack the inertia and atrophy of the interregnum... We are therefore calling a meeting of all Parsis in the greater Chicago area on August 11, 1974.” About 40 Zoroastrians attended the first meeting and the model of "Monthly Meetings” has continued to this day.
The longest serving vice president of the World Zoroastrian Organisation, "it was only Keki’s perseverance and dogged determination which finally led to the successful formation of the WZO US Region Limited, a… tax exempt charitable organization… On numerous occasions, Keki helped defray the cost of producing our much valued publication Hamazor,” acknowledged a message by WZO chairman Darayus Motivala who recalled the Bhotes personally visiting the villages of Gujarat to witness firsthand the abject poverty of Zoroastrian farmers and the rehabilitation work undertaken there by WZO. In May 2000 Bhote had been honored by WZO as one of the outstanding Zoroastrians in the world.
Remembered for his sharp intellect, a thirst for knowledge and masterful oratory, his research and writings on the Zoroastrian religion made him a popular speaker at conferences. Absorbed in his studies and writings even in his later years, he authored a book on Zoroastrianism "which has fortunately been completed and we will be publishing it shortly,” mentioned Mehroo. "His desire to spread the teachings of Zarathushtra was embodied in the formation of the Society for Scholarship on Zoroastrianism,” wrote Motivala.
Keki and Mehroo Bhote with their children and grandchildren
On his subject of expertise, Six Sigma Quality, Bhote had authored over 20 books including World Class Quality, a New York Times Bestseller, and The Ultimate Six Sigma which serve as reference manuals. As president of Keki R. Bhote Associates, a consulting company specializing in Six Sigma quality with which his son Adi too is affiliated, his expertise was sought by over 450 corporations in more than 33 countries engaged in manufacturing and service industries, educational institutions and governments. Prior to that he had served Motorola for 42 years, joining as development manager and retiring as senior corporate consultant for quality and productivity improvement
Considered one of the most accomplished quality control exe-cutives in America, his leadership resulted in Motorola being the first corporation to win the American Management Association’s Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, stated a write-up in the weekly Pioneer. Besides being named as one of the New Quality Gurus of America by Quality Digest Magazine, he was also deemed one of the six Outstanding Naturalized Citizens of Chicago. The other honors to come his way were the Zero Defects Award from the US Department of Defense, the Cecil B. Craig Award from the American Society for Quality and the Distinguished Service Award by the United Nations Association of America where he had served as chairman, Council of Presidents, adds the Pioneer.
An active participant in civic affairs, in Glencoe he was a member on the Board of Education and even its president for two years, had served as a member of the Plan Commission and was treasurer of the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library. For two terms he was elected supervisor of New Trier Township and president of its board of trustees, it was mentioned on Village of Glencoe.org. As village trustee from 2009-13 the octogenarian had served as the trustee representative to the Village Human Relations Forum, chairman of the Village Board’s Social Services Committee, member of the Public Works Committee and of the Community Grants Committee.
"He gave unselfishly of his time…and fulfilled his responsibilities to his fellow citizens in a most professional, responsible and caring way, and was instrumental in promoting the fair treatment of all individuals who live, work, visit or do business in…Glencoe,” stated the blog. "He was a very gentle person, in his words and his mannerisms. He always spoke quietly but he always made a point,” his colleague Stanley Weinberger was quoted in Pioneer.
"He was a lot of fun, compassionate and gentle. So sharp, so bright, so up on everything about what was going on in life…He was the most selfless man I ever met,” remarked his daughter Shenaya Bhote-Siegel. Born in Madras to Meherbanu and Ruttanshaw Bhote, Keki’s mother was a well-known author who wrote under the pseudonym of MRB for many Gujarati papers, recalls Mehroo. After completing his BSc in telecommunication engineering from the Madras Engineering College, he did his postgraduation in applied physics and engineering sciences from Harvard University. Whilst pursuing his professional commitments, he took a deep interest in politics and enjoyed traveling, having visited over 85 countries.
As per his wishes the family had an interfaith memorial ritual at Winnetka Congregational Church where an ecumenical service was led by a minister and Antia recited a passage from the Gathas. His admirers were requested to make memorial contributions to the Merit School of Music in lieu of bringing flowers.
The visionary is survived by his wife Mehroo, daughters Safeena Bhote Cassidy and Shenaya Bhote-Siegel, and sons Adi and Xerxes.