Trilok (Troy) Anand, 44, owner of the Robin's Donuts franchise in Thompson, which opened in November 2002, died at Saint Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg around 7 p.m. Friday night. He had been ill for only a short time.
Known to almost everyone in Thompson simply and affectionately as "Troy," Anand's immediate family survivors include his wife, Mukta, also known as "Dolly" to friends and co-workers, and two children, a daughter, Palak, and a son, Shiv. His sister, Usha, and his brother-in-law, Vijay Ralhan, operate Quiznos submarine sandwich shop franchise in Thompson Plaza. He also has two other brothers-in-law in Thompson, Dinesh and Arun Ralhan.
Robin's has more than 130 locations across Canada. It's first store opened in Thunder Bay in 1975. Anand grew up in Sitarganj in northern India, where he attended G.I.C. Sitarganj School in the Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand. He later attended Kumaun University Nainital in Uttarakhand.
Anand was fond of the Indian cricket team, the national cricket team of India, and the Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar. He was also a fan of Amitabh Bachchan, the Indian film actor and star of Hindi cinema, who has appeared in more than 180 films since the early 1970s.
Anand will be best remembered for his willingness to help out with a myriad of worthwhile community causes, especially the annual spring clean-up in late May for which he'd donate, along with doughnuts and coffee among other items, a barbecue as a draw prize.
While he was best known for his passion to clean up litter in Thompson, there was no good cause Anand wasn't willing to help out in some way with either with a cash or in-kind donation. Bobbi Montean, who works as a constituency assistant to Thompson NDP MLA Steve Ashton, and who is involved in a lot of volunteer community events herself, pointed out Anand helped out also with "Operation Red Nose, Citizens on Patrol, firefighters' events, Take Back the Night marches, Grandmothers Walks, Crime Stoppers, Our Home Kikinaw, local sports, Chamber of Commerce and the list goes on and on and on...."
Donna Wilson, owner of Nanny's Diner and former general manager of the Thompson Citizen and Nickel Belt News, recalled there was "never a social that I put on for some fundraising cause that Troy didn't donate a prize or something to when I asked. Never. He was always there."
Wilson said she considered Anand "a wonderful man and a good friend" and that when she was thinking of opening a restaurant, "Troy encouraged me to follow my dream."
Former city councillor Oswald Sawh, who worked closely with Anand in recent years on spring clean up, said in presenting him with a Thompson Spirit award at a Thompson Chamber of Commerce lunch April 25, "One thing about Troy, and it's not just about the spring clean up, but Troy and Robin's (Donuts) have supported a number of different events," said Sawh, "They support Operation Red Nose, as well as something that's near and dear to me and that's the Thompson Humane Society. This award recognizes Troy his spirit and for leading the way in making Thompson a better place to live work and play."
