Romesh Kumar Shonek passed away on 3 January 2026. He is survived by his wife Toshi, daughter Gita, son Shishir, daughter-in-law Mi Ja, brothers Mohan and Satish, sister Sushma, and their families. He is preceded by sister Shobha, father Rambeharilal Shonek, mother Saraswati Dixit, and sister Pappi who died in childhood.

Romesh was born in 1937 in Lahore, pre-partition India. The family lived for a time in Simla, which stayed in Romesh's mind as the place he was most at home. He studied languages and literature, and was a trained librarian.

Romesh met fellow librarian Santosh (Toshi) Gupta at the Postgraduate Institute in Chandigarh, India. He saw her and said to himself that he would marry her. He would steal her Cadbury chocolates from her desk, but she agreed to marry him anyway. They married in 1965.

Romesh took a position at the University of Chicago in 1966, shortly before his son Shishir was born. Toshi and Shishir joined him in 1968. Romesh continued teaching and translating, and eventually joined Duke University as a professor of Hindi and comparative literature. His daughter Gita was born in Durham in 1975.

When Romesh left Duke, he took on business ownership, running a convenience store in Timberlake, NC. The family moved to Creedmoor, NC, where Romesh continued business ownership. He also learned computer languages and programming in his limited spare time. He eventually gave up business ownership and took on a career as a real estate agent.

The family moved back to Durham as Romesh's real estate business grew. He helped many people buy their first homes and subsequent as their families grew, especially when driving around the Triangle, he would often point out a house that he had sold, sometimes multiple times over the years. And he remembered every person he worked with and what they bought. After his memory was gone, he was delighted when people reminded him of how he helped them purchase their first home or the house they were in.

After his retirement from real estate, Romesh continued as a teacher and translator, including taking a position teaching Urdu to military personnel in Hawaii. He returned to Durham, where he settled into a retirement of reading and other favorite lifetime activities, such as writing poetry, eating good food (especially Toshi's), and having long conversations.

For many years, Romesh taught Hindi classes at the Hindu Society temple in Morrisville, NC. He would use material such as children's stories and poetry, and translated many of those and other works for use in the classroom. Throughout his life, Romesh was a voracious student of languages and scripts, such as French, German, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Russian, and Persian.

Romesh's favorite activity was reading poetry to Toshi (and anyone else who was listening). This encouraged Toshi to write and publish her own prose and poetry. They enjoyed group recitals of poetry and music, such as Kavi Sammelan. He and Toshi were active with groups such as Urdu Majlis and Hindi Vikas Mandal.

Romesh left love notes for Toshi everywhere, for any occasion (or no occasion at all). He carried Gita when she was a baby and sang to her, including his favorite movie songs and lullabies such as Nani Kalli and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He appreciated all artistic pursuits, such as Shishir's writing and acting and Gita's many dance and chorus recitals, plays, musicals, and multiple visual arts degrees.

Romesh's family held a private service and cremation on January 8, 2026. His ashes will be returned to India, in accordance with Hindu tradition. Memorial donations can be made to the Hindu Society of North Carolina, local libraries, or programs promoting reading, languages, and the arts.