Murtaza Sherali Kassamali Jaffer ALLOO
March 10, 1945 – June 27, 2019
We knew him as a diminutive man with a big heart – he was a glue that bound the Alloo Family together. Murtaza was a man who touched many lives. He was a role model and patriarch to so many of us, teaching us the value of hard work and familial relations while maintaining an unparalleled zest for learning. Wise and measured, he had a unique ability to see different points of view – a trait that earned him the respect of young and old alike. In many respects he was a man ahead of his time. In his sixties, Murtaza became a certified personal trainer, in his fifties a professional-grade photographer, and in retirement an adventurous traveler and mountain climber. These were just a few of his many accomplishments.
Murtaza was, perhaps, the most organized and disciplined man you could ever meet, always carrying a bottle of water with him and rarely having his dinner after five oclock in the evening. One would never leave a conversation with Murtaza without learning something – be it on photography, travel, business management, efficient packing, or general life skills. He had a meticulous and well-thought-out system for everything he did and one that everyone around him benefited from. His home was filled with dazzling engineering inventions and complex systems fabricated by father and son team, Uncle Murtaza and Ali.
Despite his many hobbies, passions, and busy family life, Murtaza would make tremendous efforts to keep in touch with each of his friends and family members. He was a man of positivity, someone who believed in sunny ways and optimism, someone who laughed a lot and made others laugh with him. He was a good and giving friend, a great, pleasant and fulfilling travelling companion, always offering to make baggage tags for you or giving you the most up to date locks for your suit cases.
Born in Dar-es-salaam, Murtaza lost his father when was only 7 years old. He often fondly talked about how he spent his boyhood admiring his fathers dexterity in making wooden toys for him. This early fatherly training cultivated his love for trying his hands first at woodwork and later building crude electronic gadgetry.
While Murtaza was born with little means, he used his incredible intelligence, ingenuity, and work ethic to make something of himself. By the time he was a teenager, he was a self-taught electrician fulfilling contracts for the United Nations. As a true big brother, he would take his cousins along and share both his earning and learnings. To this day, many have never forgotten his generosity. While in todays world it is easy to focus only on ourselves and our own wealth, Murtaza was an example of someone who shared even his modest earnings and opportunities with those he loved.
Murtazas passion for electronics led to his interest in a new breed of sewing machines manufactured in Italy, Germany and later in Japan. He trained in Italy and Germany, and in the late 1960s, he started a sewing machine business in Dare-es-salaam with his brother Abbas, styled in the name of Necchi. Murtaza later mastered the use of the sewing machine and traveled all around Tanzania to remote villages, dazzling potential customers with his product and knowledge while visiting places most people wouldnt dare to go.
Murtaza later migrated to Toronto to invest in the sewing machine business, a sector at that time that was monopolized by a few large players. His company thrived and in the process he earned the respect of his competitors as astute and principled. With little formal education, Murtaza became an incredibly successful entrepreneur, yet he never lost his values in the process. He was a true example of an ethical businessman – honest, generous, and fair.
Murtazas death is an incredible loss for us all. He was Raziyas loving husband and soulmate, Fatmas thoughtful brother, Rifat and Alis caring Papa, Khalil and Muneeras understanding Father-in-law, and Safiya, Aleena, Layla and Yusufs doting grandfather, and a dear friend to many.
Murtaza was the fourth child of Late Sherali Kassamali Jaffer Alloo and Late Leila Dhala Balu. He was the sibling of Late Abbas Alloo, Late Jaffer Alloo and Fatma Lila.
Murtaza was a patriarch of our family, the glue that kept many of us together, and an embodiment of our values. In his memory, may each of us try to live by his example, to stay connected, to never stop learning, and to share what little we have with each other. While Murtaza may have departed physically from this world, his legacy will remain in all the lives he touched.
The Alloo family prays for his soul and for his family at this loss.
Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun.
Fatiha
