With his family at his side, Noor Billawala peacefully passed away in the early evening of Saturday, July 9, 2016 after a long hard-fought battle with cancer.
Born in India on July 18, 1925, Noor was almost 91 years old when he passed. As the oldest son in a family with four boys and two girls who lived together in a one bedroom apartment in Bombay, he was a standout student and the trailblazer of the family. Noor left India in 1947 to come to the United States and study at UC Berkeley where he received a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MS in Physics, and an MBA, and was enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Stanford until family obligations required him to leave to provide for his family after his wife passed away.
He worked at Sylvania before hanging his own shingle and working as a real estate broker which led into his investing in real estate and developing properties. Along the way Noor, at one time or another, owned homes on Grenola Drive, Bubb Road, and Fort Baker Drive in Cupertino, Santas Village in Scotts Valley and the Ranch across the street, a 168-acre property on Glenwood Drive in Scotts Valley, the property later developed as Rainbow's End in Cupertino, the Chaparral Ranch in Milpitas, the Henry Hotel in San Francisco, a development in Saratoga where he named the streets "Abdulla Way" after his father and "Emanuel Court" after his second wife's father, 13 acres in the Montalvo area of Saratoga where he raised his family in a quirky but awesome home, the Airport Inn (later Clarion Hotel) in San Jose, and many more properties.
Noor would never give up, no matter what setbacks life dealt him--financial, medical, or family tragedy.
He met his first wife, Toshiko Onouye, while attending Cal and together they had two daughters, Taj and Nina, and a son, Omar. In 1961 when Omar was born, there were complications and Toshiko did not survive. Noor placed a detailed advertisement for a nanny in the newspaper and hired Christa Becker who, a little more than three years later, would become his second wife. Christa brought to the family a son, Christopher, and daughter, Francisca, from her prior marriage. After they married, both Noor and Christa adopted each other's children. Not wanting to waste time, Noor's third son, Yakoub was born nine months and one day after the wedding. And finally, the fourth son and seventh child, Youssef came along four years later. In 2003, Christa lost her battle with cancer. But, Noor did not despair and found love again and married Neela Sayler in 2007 after getting down on one knee and proposing at Neela's 72nd birthday party.
Noor was always willing to lend a helping hand to his family, the Muslim Community Association, the Hindu Temple and many others who needed help. Over the years he produced the spectacular Scotts Valley Calvalcade show in 1976 and 1977, owned and operated Santa's Village, a costume shop, a Scott's Valley newspaper--The Valley Times, a hotel and restaurant, and many other businesses.
Noor leaves behind his wife, a brother, 2 sisters, 7 children, 11 grandchildren, 5 nephews, 9 nieces, and many more who cared deeply for him.
As per Dad's wishes, he was buried at Madronia Cemetery in Saratoga on July 15th. His memorial service was held on August 13th at First Congregational Church of San Jose. A program can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzNC9W8KNrC7N3hsZnloYWpmd1k/view?usp=sharing.
Tributes
Leave a tributeEd Lang and Madzy Lang friends in Scotts Valley
i will always remember and be thankful for knowing you
Ella
Robert Papiri
You allway was a important part of my life.
Thank you for all what you done for me.
although it has been many, many years since I saw you the last time you and your family have always been in my heart and in my memories.
When I came to California in 1998 your house in Saratoga was my first home where we enjoyed so many wonderful moments! I remember sleeping outside on an air mattress watching the stars or having fun with Easter-egg-hunting together with the whole family.
I would have loved to meet you again!
You will be missed so much, you have been loved so much!
Thanks Noor - you'll be in my heart, next to Christa and together with all the fantastic memories I have!
I do not think that I ever met another person who was like you: gracious, kind, giving, patient, loving, generous, determined, intelligent, considerate, endlessly hospitable, such dedicated father, grandfather, husband, in all ways so very special. All of that and handsome too. The space you leave is a big hole.
Outside my sisters and brother you are the one person whom I have known longer than any other. So many memories of good times, sometimes hard ones too.
You included so many in your life, considered them family even me a divorced in-law.
I wish I would know how to comfort your wife, daughters and sons with spouses and grandchildren during this difficult time of seeing you off to another world. You will be missed so much.
The good thing is that there are great memories, some a bit amusing: You being able to take a nap on the spot for only 10 minutes, learning how to dance. I remember when we went to the city with guests from Germany and tried to get into the fancy bar on top of the Fairmont. They did not let us in as the men were not wearing ties. We were creative and made them with scarfs. It worked! Afternoon was saved.
You are in my heart and will always stay there.
Leave a Tribute
Ed Lang and Madzy Lang friends in Scotts Valley
Senior Men's Group
The Senior Men's Group at First Congregational is limited to men who are at least 75 years old. We have found that men who have reached this age share many concerns and experiences that are not known to younger men. With his dynamic personality and his broad life experience, Noor was always able to offer a perspective that was valuable to all of us. We will always be grateful for his generous friendship and his riich contributions to our discussions. He is still dear to every one of us, and we miss him.