People
Sardarni Harbhajan Kaur
[1932 - 2012]
Sardarni Harbhajan Kaur, 80, wife of late Sardar Phulel Singh, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada - formerly of Ranchi (then in Bihar), India - passed away on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, in Toronto.
Born on February 8, 1932 in Dhamali, (Punjab, now in Pakistan), she grew up and schooled there until the cataclysm of the Partition of Punjab and India in 1947 which forced her family and her to flee to newly-carved and independent India.
There, she met and married fellow-refugee from Punjab, Sardar Phulel Singh, and the two – along with his three brothers and parents - moved a thousand miles away to Ranchi (then in the province of Bihar).
In 1971 - by then a family of nine, consisting of four sons and three daughters - they immigrated to Toronto, Canada.
Sardar Phulel Singh had a long and successful career as a businessman, community leader and philanthropist, before his death in Toronto 1991.
Sardarni Harbhajan Kaur was living with her son, Anandpreet, his wife Jasmeet and their family, who lovingly looked after her, when she suffered a sudden heart-attack on the night of Wednesday, February 15, 2012, and passed away shortly thereafter at the York Central Hospital in Greater Toronto.
She leaves behind six children:
Jasbir Kaur, husband Pavitar Singh, and their three children (Chicago, U.S.A.)
Ranbir Kaur, husband Manmohan Singh, and their three children (Mumbai, India)
Gurcharanjit Singh, wife Kavita Kaur, and their two children (Vancouver, Canada)
Amarjit Singh, wife Gurinder Kaur, and their three children (Toronto, Canada)
Anandpreet Singh, wife Jasmeet Kaur, and their three children (Toronto, Canada)
Deshpreet Kaur, husband Jagdeep Singh, and their three children (Toronto, Canada)
A seventh, Sardar Dalbir Singh, died in an aircraft mishap in 1983.
In addition to the 17 grandchildren, she also leaves behind three great-grand children.
Equally notably, she will be lovingly missed by her sisters-in-law Sardarni Mahinder Kaur (Toronto, Canada) and Sardarni Jagjit Kaur (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), her brother-in-law Sardar Surjit Singh (Fort Lauderdale), her brothers Sardar Mohinder Singh (Patna, Bihar, India) and Sardar Amrik Singh (Delhi, India), and sister Sardarni Amarjit Kaur (Delhi, India).
Sardarni Harbhajan Kaur is widely remembered, especially across the length and breadth of the North American continent, for the unique and reverent seva she and her late husband conducted, assisted by their family through the years, in making birs of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scripture, freely available to GurSikh households and gurdwaras, wherever needed.
Respected and loved deeply and fondly as the matriarch of the extended family, and missed by friends and loved ones around the world, we celebrate a life well lived: full of love, seva and Sikhi.
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS
Sunday, February 19
Visitation Hours 2:00 - 5:00 pm
at R.S. Kane Funeral Home, 6150 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario
1.416.221.1159 www.rskane.ca
Tuesday, February 21
Final Visitation & Ardaas 12 noon - 1:00 pm
at R.S. Kane Funeral Home
Departure from Funeral Home by motorcade at 1:00 pm
Drive to Crematorium
Cremation Service 1:30 pm
1591 Elgin Mills Rd., Richmond Hill, Ontario
1.905.737.1720
Saturday, February 25
Bhog/Kirtan 6:pm - 8:30 pm
at Scarborough Gurdwara
905 Middlefield Road, Scarborough, Ontario
1.416.299.4800
Conversation about this article
1: Satpal Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), February 20, 2012, 11:28 PM.
Our deepest condolences to the family. Guru Rakha.
2: A.J.S. Chhatwal (India), February 27, 2012, 4:04 AM.
Dear Gurcharan: I read with grief the passing of your dear mother. We are saddened by your loss and trust the family will find the strength to bear this irreparable loss.
3: S.K. Bhamra-Billy (United Kingdom), February 27, 2012, 2:21 PM.
Gurcharan ji: Sorry to hear of the loss of your mum. Our deepest condolences to you and your family. I am sure you would have loads of beautiful memories of the lovely days spent together and may mum's soul rest in peace.