Ebenezer Vijeyakumar Ranjit (Vijay) died March 1, 2023, in Windsor, Ont., due to complications from lung disease. Vijay was born in Madurai, Chennai, India in 1946, although his birth certificate was recorded as 1947. This was a mistake. He would like all to know that he lived 77 full years.
Vijay was born to Elizabeth (née Abraham) and Zebulon Ranjitham, their second son after Soban and before Ashok. Clever from the get-go, he entered the University of Madras at 13 and medical school at 16. After graduating in 1970, he moved to Trinidad and Tobago, where he met and courted Fabiena (Fay) Lee Foon. He left Trinidad for three years to continue his training in Newfoundland, but realized he left his heart behind and returned to Trinidad where he married Fay before they began their life together in Windsor, Ont.
In Windsor, Vijay built a family medical practice that he continued for 46 years, until 2022. His life’s passion was medicine, solving problems and helping people. He helped thousands of families in his practice. Vijay recognized the role that he played in his patients’ lives and appreciated the privilege to grow older with them.
His contributions to the Windsor medical community expanded beyond his practice. In the late 1990s, he was president of the Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital medical staff. In 2010, he joined Western University as an adjunct professor, supervising third- and fourth-year students and residents in family and geriatric medicine. His work as a mentor and instructor was especially meaningful in the twilight of his career, supporting the next generation of family doctors in our community.
Beyond medicine, Vijay was passionate about music, golf and technology. A child at heart, he was always trying out the latest gadgets and promising to get back to his guitar playing. He took up golf when he moved to Canada. Despite winning The Most Honest Golfer award for several years, his determination was unwavering and he became proficient at his sport, spending hours honing his skill and investing in his friendships on the course. Vijay shared his hobby with his children over the years, even going so far as to pull his youngest out of school for a lesson with the club pro - a mischievousness that those who knew him well got to enjoy.
Vijay will be remembered for his dedication to his patients and commitment to excellence in medicine, his relentless dad jokes and his unwavering pride in his children and grandchildren.
Vijay is survived by Fay, their four children, Christian, Mark, Kathryn (Kevin Ruddock) and Jennifer (Chris Fortais) and grandchildren Mercedes, Vincent James, Nia and Arya, and his brother Ashok (Prema) and many relatives in many countries.
We’d like to thank his care team for their support - Dr. D. Ziter, Dr. A. Dhar, Dr. D. Singh, Dr. A. Bagga and the team at Metropolitan Hospital.
If you so desire, donations to the Canadian Diabetes Association or Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare would be appreciated by the family.