Peter Jerome D'Silva

Peter Jerome D’Silva

February 22, 1927 – March 29, 2024

Peter Jerome D’Silva, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, bavoji, uncle and friend, aged 97, passed away peacefully on March 29, 2024, surrounded by his entire loving family.

Peter was born in Mangalore, a city in India, where he grew up with his parents Joseph and Bibiana and his six siblings. Peter was a studious young man and on completion of his Bachelor's degree at St. Aloysius University, he joined the same university to teach. He was an avid reader and had a love of English literature and language that he leveraged to elevate his career and family. 

He moved to Bombay and took up a career in banking, which led to an amazing opportunity in Kampala, Uganda in 1955. This began his lifelong love for Africa, which he often reminisced about till the very end.

Peter returned to India in 1961 to marry his beloved Rita in a whirlwind courtship in accordance with the customs of the times. They both travelled to Uganda to build their lives together, keeping faith at the forefront of family life and started a family which initially grew to six children. Peter and Rita integrated into the community where they created life-long friendships. Peter worked at Barclays Bank, Kampala, until 1972, however, due to the political climate, had to move the family during the expulsion of the Indian community.

His love for Africa cemented, he then moved the family to Malawi where Peter and Rita added another two children to their brood, bringing the total number of children to eight and fulfilling his wish of having a large family. In Malawi, Peter continued to excel in the banking industry till his retirement as a Bank Inspector, for Commercial Bank of Malawi, in 1987.

The African safari continued... Peter and Rita moved the family to Zimbabwe in 1981, whilst he continued to work in Malawi. On his retirement, he joined the family in Zimbabwe, where he spent many happy years as the younger children completed their education.  

Despite many hardships, Peter and Rita were determined to give their children the best education possible as they believed this would give them a competitive edge in a challenging and fast-moving world. This resulted in their children studying and settling in different countries, spanning the five major continents, ensuring his legacy reaches every corner of the world. 

Peter and Rita continued their travelling adventures by embarking on a new journey to the USA, late in life, in pursuit of the American Dream.

Peter, affectionately known as PJ, was fun-loving, always the life of the party, had a fabulous sense of humor and loved singing a song or two. He spent many happy times with his children and grandchildren, playing cards, playing table tennis, fishing, reading and doing crossword puzzles whilst always singing a tune from his song repertoire, which had global breadth and depth.  Everyone remembers his lyrics to ‘Colonel Bogey March’!

Peter had a keen interest in food and loved being in the kitchen, cooking and baking. He specifically enjoyed traditional Mangalorean food and always finished meals with a dessert to satisfy his sweet tooth. Peter adored his darling Rita’s cooking and would spontaneously invite friends and relatives home to experience Rita’s culinary delights.

Peter, a devout Catholic, used his faith to guide and help instill strong values within the family. Later in life, he served as an Extraordinary Minister of The Eucharist. Daily rosary has always been a must at home. Growing up, errors or mischief during the rosary were a big no no! This resulted in the rosary being repeated multiple times, even when the mischief was sometimes instigated by Peter himself!

He is truly loved by all and dearly missed!

Peter is survived by his wife of 63 years, Rita.

Father (PJ) of Jeevan/Joan, Nirmala/the late Alwyn, Keeron/Colleen, Nalini, Ramola/Brad, Jyothi, Anand and Aruna.

Grandfather (Papa) of Shreya, Amala, Alaina, Nicole, Keaghan, Kyrena, Keana/Lucas, Serena/David, Odin, Kyle, Zack, Tegan and Ewan.

Great-grandfather (Papa) of Katelyn, Aiden and Eliana.

Peter D’Silva’s funeral will be held on Tuesday April 9th, 2024, at St. Louis de Montfort Church at 10:30am (USA EST) followed by a private cremation, witnessed by family.

His funeral Mass will be live streamed, and all are welcome.

https://sldmfishers.org/live-stream-funerals

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Louis de Montfort Church.

https://www.osvhub.com/sldmfishers/giving/funds

To celebrate Peter’s life, the family have created an online Kudoboard. Please share your memories, photos, videos, condolences or anything else that comes to mind. 

https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/jQgjr6f6

Prayer

Some times we laugh together,

Some times we argue together,

Sometimes we cry together, 

But most often Pray together.

So, let’s join our hands together,

And pray to our Lord together,

Let’s ask for His pardon together,

And beg Him to bless us together.

Together, Together, Together,

We can do many things together,

But without his Blessings together,

We won’t achieve anything together.

By Peter D’Silva