An entrepreneur hardened by the strange twists of fate does not give up: we have not seen such times

“It just came to our attention then. We have survived the spring crisis, we will survive the current one. The most important thing is to save employees,” says the Pasvalys businessman, who has created around fifty jobs.

The owner of Pas Rimas is comforted by the fact that the country’s income saves something in the business. One of those activities is the rental of real estate. He has rented several buildings, and the cafe is preparing takeout: “I would like it to be different, but I feel that Christmas will not be like before,” predicts the interlocutor.

Jeans – to Murmansk

The famous businessman from Pasvalys R. Želvys began his activity in the distant days of cooperatives: “We started with sewing. We sew jeans, jackets, jackets and even transport those products to Murmansk. “

Remember that he then made a profit of a few hundred percent, so flying to Murmansk and back was nothing.

Thus the first capital was accumulated. Then the businessman opened the “Gilė” cafe and started other activities.

In 1997 In December, R. Želvys bought a completely abandoned Balsiai water mill at auction, which has been in operation for almost three centuries. He bought it just as the mill was removed from the list of cultural heritage sites: “We bought a mill that was already about 60 percent off. collapsed. It was only around 2008 or 2009 that he hammered back into his wall a board that is protected by the state. “

An elegant two-story stone building emerges from the main road from Pasvalys to Šiauliai, driving a few kilometers to the side in the Lėvens ravine. An entry in the table on the wall shows the date of birth of the water mill: 1764. It is one of the oldest, dating from 1764. The mills that arose in Lithuania, which were built with local material, were made by hand by local teachers.

Now the Balsiai mill is surrounded by a fence of buildings. The yard is full of old sleighs, carriages, wheels. In summer, everyone is adorned with flowers. Next to the mill, on the river, there are several viewpoints. One of them can be accessed by a wooden log bridge.

The third brother, Rim, was seduced by the flights.

The reconstruction of the famous mill took several years. From the beginning, R. Želvys has been in business together with one of the three brothers, the younger Laimutis.

“We are four brothers. I’m the third, but not John. John is the first ”, joked the interlocutor.

But as in those fairy tales, the third brother, in this case Rimas, hardly traveled the world in search of happiness. It is true that in Soviet times that world was much narrower. The young man really wanted to become a pilot, so after immersing himself in film mechanics in Kaunas, he found himself at the Ukrainian Aviation School and began studying the art of flying. He became a pilot, received the rank of captain, flew helicopters in the Soviet army. But after returning to Lithuania, this experience was no longer useful: “Independence has come, this is where you will fly here with those Russian helicopters.”

R. Želvys can not only operate a helicopter, but also fly balloons. There were truly impressive achievements here, and one of the most striking was the World Championship won fifteen years ago with the Perkūnas team of pilots, led by the famous pilot Arvydas Dirmeikis.

“Now I don’t have bags, I just fly a few times. I also took off this fall,” said the former pilot when asked if he had stayed true to balloons so far.

Soar here, you land here

According to V. Želvis, every year there is no shortage of surprises in business: “Those years are like this, one year is better, the other is worse, go up here, you will land here, like with those balloons”.

The entrepreneur, who has accumulated a lot of experience, says that the easiest thing was at the beginning of the business, then there were few competitors.

“It used to be a lot easier, and now everything has to be calculated well and something has to be done better than others.”

According to R. Želvis, the factory provided the greatest benefit shortly after rebuilding: “In 2004-2008. our business was really good. Oh, and during 2008-2009. the crisis was not bad. People had accumulated the money they wanted He drowned, to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries “.

And this year, after the end of the first quarantine, the businessman tried not to lift balls, but the mill of various travelers and tourists was not really short.

“This year, people weren’t able to go abroad much, so there was a huge migration in Lithuania,” the businessman said of wealthy guests in the summer.

A gift for the disabled

Pasvalys businessman R. Želvys is famous for his unique initiative. For a decade, on the territory of the mill, it has created opportunities and created all the conditions for the organization of congresses and celebrations for the disabled. In recent years, up to three thousand people with disabilities and their companions have gathered.

The mill owner gives them free access to the buildings and the area, and then takes care of everything.

Several days in July, music, songs, various entertainment, fairs and parties take place here.

I ask him how such an idea came about.

“Not far from the Balsiai mill, in the village of Talačkoniai and before there were celebrations for the disabled. Oh, and I have a disability after a stroke, so we found out, the organizers of that celebration came up to me and moved the celebration to us. We became friends and each year it is better and more abundant: we plan a number of guests and gather many more. People with disabilities come with families, with drivers and there is enough space for everyone. Build tents, tables, load crafts. There is a beautiful vacation, people relax, they forget their misfortunes ”, says R. Želvys, witness and sponsor of that vacation.

Only this summer, for obvious reasons, a celebration could not be held, but the businessman believes that next year everything will be as it was, and even better.

The Pasvalys businessman is also famous for other selfless actions. Annually awards the best students. More than a decade ago, R. Želvis’s family adopted two orphans: the girl is already a student and her brother is a gym student.

The source of inspiration is the priest grandfather.

The interlocutor of both kindness and entrepreneurship claims to have turned to his grandfather, the famous volunteer priest Pasvalys, political prisoner Juozapas Želvis. Rimas is the grandson of this brother, a priest who especially deserves Kaunas.

After graduating from the Kaunas priests’ seminary, J. Želvis was commissioned to take charge of the construction of a new church in Kaunas, Žaliakalnis. In March 1936, the construction of brick houses of worship began, and in the same year St. Antanas Paduvietis Church. Under the priest’s care, a two-story rectory, a refuge for the poor, a benefactor’s house, a laundry and a hospital were erected near the house of prayer.

The priest’s grandson, businessman R. Želvys, said that during his studies in Kaunas he visited his relative at least twice a week. He called the priest grandfather.

“He was a very good man, very responsible. He rarely found a priest alone, often with guests. Grandpa spoke six languages. He even went to the United States and celebrated mass in Italy, ”said the future businessman who was studying film mechanics in Kaunas at the time.

Remember the priest’s stories about Kaunas, about how the church and other buildings were built:

“It just came to our knowledge then. He said a lot about how he befriended merchants before the war. That’s what the priest called many wealthy businessmen.”

R. Želvys revealed a story in the family, which has now become a public secret, about how many priests saved the lives of many Jewish children during the war. A church servant issued them Lithuanian birth certificates.

According to R. Želvis, the priest, who did a great job, did not escape from prison and exile. He was imprisoned in Siberia for 7 years.

“The tradition of having a priest in the family and giving one of his sons the name Juozas has continued in our family since ancient times. My parents broke this habit. We are four brothers and none of us were baptized by Joseph. As the parents explained, they feared an evil fate. Because the father’s older brother received this name, and he died two years later. The second son, my father, was called Juozas again. My daughter corrected this error. I have a four-year-old grandson, Juozukas “, – the businessman shared family traditions.

Rima says her parents met and settled in exile in Siberia. There an older brother was born: “Siberia brought my parents together. They would not have gotten there, perhaps they would not have met in Lithuania, “said the businessman about the twists and turns of his parents.

Strange coincidences

There were strange twists or turns in the life of the businessman himself. They are particularly prominent in the history of your marriage. The owner of the Balsiai mill, considered the richest and most coveted boyfriend in the Pasvalys district at the time, managed to marry the same woman only for the third time.

He met his future wife Daiva a few decades ago, but his path to marriage was like a series of obstacles. For the first two times, their already planned wedding was ruined by accidents.

A couple of months before the first couple of the planned wedding, the groom had an accident. The businessman later broke the bones in his right arm in three places. The planned marriage next year was also not registered. A few months earlier, R. Želvys slipped and fell on the hotel’s ski stairs. The bones of the same arm were broken again in two places.

“After the failed marriages with Daiva, we remain good friends,” revealed the businessman after his third marriage more than ten years later.

Half a year before the third attempt, the businessman suffered a stroke. But that didn’t stop them from finally becoming a couple.

Believers in various mystical things would say that maybe there is a curse here.

“I don’t know, maybe …” laughs the businessman. “Or was it a punishment for not being a priest?” After all, my grandfather would have wanted that. “