Jotindra Barot, Vero Beach
Jotindra “Jitu” Barot, beloved husband to Kokila “Koki” Barot, passed peacefully from our midst on March 16, 2018. Jitu was born in Gujarat, India, where he married his wife of 55 years.
From there, the couple lived in Nairobi, Kenya – where he worked in accounting; London, England – where he worked for the British Railway System; and finally, Vero Beach, where they have been residents for 38 years.
Together, they owned and operated the Royal Park Motor Inn and Citrus Motel.
Jitu also owned and operated Hometown Supermarket, (formerly known as Yates Supermarket), with his late brother, Bhaskar Barot.
Jitu retired from Publix Supermarkets in 1994.
He was a pioneering member of the Atlantic Indian Association and was a long time member of the Vedic Cultural Society of Fort Pierce.
Jitu is survived and remembered in love by his wife, Koki; sisters, Ranjan Sharma, of Maharashtra, India, and Charu Bhatt, of Gujarat, India; son, Sanjay Barot and daughter-in-law, Reshma Patel, of London, England; daughter, Sonal Battista and son-in-law, Jeff Battista, of Vero Beach; and grandchildren, Devin Barot, Dylon Barot, Malav Patel, Ravi Mehta, Rikesh Mehta, Samir Mehta, Ainsley Battista and Steven Battista; and a sizeable extended family both here and abroad.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Sushilaben Barot; father, Maganbhai K. Barot; and brothers, Bharat Barot and Bhaskar Barot.
There will be a service from 2-4 p.m., Thursday, March 22, at Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, 1655 27th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960.
The family would like to request, that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent in Jitu’s memory to the Vedic Cultural Society of Fort Pierce, P.O. Box 3731, Fort Pierce, Florida 34979-3731.
Andrew A. Blizman, 58, Sebastian
Andrew “Bub” A. Blizman, 58, died March 14, 2018, at Sebastian River Medical Center in Sebastian. He was born Aug. 30, 1959, in Troy, Ohio, and lived in Vero Beach and the Sebastian area since coming from his birthplace in 1962.
Bub retired from Piper Aircraft in 2017 after working as their maintenance man for 38 years.
Bub was a commercial fisherman for Judah Fish House, May’s Marina and Archie Smith Fish House. He loved the water and the Indian River Lagoon was his favorite place to be unless he was on a job for his family as the official “Handy Man.”
Survivors include wife of 36 years, Melissa Blizman; daughter, Andrea Blizman; son, Andrew A. Blizman, Jr., all of Vero Beach; mother, E. Geneva Blizman, of Palm Bay; sisters, Teresa Fitzsimmons (husband, Tom), of Melbourne, Fla., Donna Goodwin (husband, Jack), of Sebastian, Tonya Moore (husband, Alvin Moore), of Micco, and Mary Monahan (husband, Michael), of Barefoot Bay; brother, Larry Blizman, of Palm Bay; mother-in-law, Hazel Mallory, of Roseland; granddaughter, Hazel Blizman, of Vero Beach.
He was preceded in death by his father, Andrew Blizman, Jr.; and father-in-law, Alva Mallory.
Visitation will be held 10:30 a.m. – Noon on Tuesday, March 20, at Strunk Funeral Home followed by a Celebration of his life at Noon in the funeral home chapel with Pastor Grant Foster of Riverside Church, officiating.
A private family interment will be held at a later date at Fellsmere Brookside Historic Cemetery, Fellsmere.
Arrangements are by Strunk Funeral Home and Crematory, Sebastian.
Kathleen Murray Knowles, 93, Vero Beach
Kathleen Murray Knowles, 93, of Vero Beach, passed away March 16, 2018, at Indian River Medical Center. She was born in Cumberland, Md., and was a graduate of George Washington University.
Prior to retirement, Kathleen enjoyed her many years of work as a training specialist for the United States Department of Agriculture.
Ms. Knowles was an avid golfer and earned many awards from the Moorings Country Club.
She is survived by her daughter, Kathleen L. Knowles.
Kathleen was predeceased by husband, Dr. Ralph C. Knowles; and daughter, Patricia A. Knowles.
There will be a service held 10a.m. Monday, March 26, at Holy Cross Catholic Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
Elizabeth Low Stewart, 86, Vero Beach
Elizabeth Low Stewart, 86, of Vero Beach, died on Friday, March 16, 2018, in Vero Beach. Born 1931 in New York, N.Y., she was the daughter of E. Herrick Low and Mary Holland, and sister of E. Holland Low.
Her paternal ancestors arrived in Ipswich, Mass., in 1636 and by the 1800s had settled in Brooklyn, N.Y., where A.A. Low & Brother conducted their successful clipper ship trade with China. On her maternal side, the Hollands arrived in Massachusetts in 1633, eventually moving to Buffalo, N.Y., as did the Hudson family, who later founded the J.L. Hudson department store in Detroit, Mich.
Elizabeth grew up in New York City, where she attended Chapin School and later Miss Porter’s in Farmington, Connecticut. Her family spent summers and World War II at Holland Farm and “Pardon Me” in Belchertown, Mass. She had idyllic memories of her early years there, helping tend the farm and teaching local school children. Later, she modeled in New York City.
In 1956, she married Francis C. Whitaker of Camden, S.C. They lived first in New York City and then Locust Valley, N.Y. With their three children in tow, they moved to London, England, in 1967 and lived in England and Ireland for the next decade.
On returning to the United States with her children, she married Donald M. Stewart, of West Hartford, Conn., in 1977. They lived there, in Hyannisport, Mass., and Edwards, Colo., until moving to Vero Beach, in 1995.
Elizabeth was a great lover of the natural world and a lifelong artist. She was a member of the Colony Club, N.Y., Piping Rock in Locust Valley, N.Y., the Hurlingham Club in London, as well as the Riomar Golf Club in Vero Beach, where she also supported the Indian River Land Trust.
She is survived by her three loving children, Susan Whitaker Capparelle, of Cos Cob, Conn., Andrew Burnet Rhett Whitaker, of Darien, Conn., and Edward Rutledge Burnet Whitaker, of Winthrop, Conn.; as well as three granddaughters, Katherine Holland Capparelle, Lucy Chesnut Whitaker and Mary Warren Whitaker; her devoted brother, E. Holland Low, of Longmeadow, Mass.; and four step-children, Donald, Katherine, Alexander and Eliza Stewart.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to VNA/Hospice of Vero Beach 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL and Scully-Welsh Cancer Center at Indian River Medical Center, 3555 10th Court, Vero Beach, FL 32960.