Obituary for Karnail Singh
On the evening of Friday, January 7th, 2022, Karnail Singh, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle took his last breath as he headed on to his next journey.
Beyond his familial titles, Karnail was a man who loved life, was a survivor, a social butterfly, and a life-long learner. He was a man who was always there for the people he loved and forever ready to help, a man who loved his grandkids and great grandkids. As he used to say, seeing them would double his blood and fill him with robust energy.
Karnail Singh knew how to enjoy the everyday and lived it to the fullest. He ate what he wanted - despite his daughter & grandson’s futile attempts at instilling a healthy diet, drank his peg’s (cocktails) - complaining to anyone who would listen when he wasn’t offered one and acted as our personal news reporter - informing his family about everything happening in Punjab and locally. A complete package!
He was also a true survivor, having lived through the 1947 India-Pakistan partition, the 1984 riots, multiple heart attacks and strokes, knee surgeries gone wrong and more. Yet every time, he came out stronger than he went in. Even when he didn’t have his knee and couldn’t bend his leg, his spirit never dampened. He continued to be fiercely independent, adapted to every hurdle that he encountered, and didn’t complain. Finding his own solace and routines, even in rough physical condition because of his knees, he’d learned the local bus routes and would take public transit to the gurdwara (Iocal temple) and back.
Not only was he a survivor, he was also a social butterfly! His biggest gift was being able to make new friends wherever he went. He was never afraid to call strangers over and ask them about their background or life history. A prime example was his relationship with the local bus driver, who not only became his good friend but would go out of his way to come to our home to pick him up and take him to the temple. Friends and connections meaning what they did to Karnail, it also wasn’t surprising when he played investigator and found a childhood friend from Pakistan and his family and kept in touch with them till his last days.
A man who loved learning, Karnail was always teaching himself something new. Whether that be English, how to use his new android phone, the latest social media - Youtube, Facebook (yes at 87 he had his own Facebook account), whatsapp and video messaging.
We will remember Karnail as someone who lived his life to the fullest, filled with family, friends, laughter and lots of love. Karnail leaves behind a devoted wife, daughter, son, 4 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren and 4 great grand fur babies. He will be dearly missed, but his memories live on with the ones he left behind.
Beyond his familial titles, Karnail was a man who loved life, was a survivor, a social butterfly, and a life-long learner. He was a man who was always there for the people he loved and forever ready to help, a man who loved his grandkids and great grandkids. As he used to say, seeing them would double his blood and fill him with robust energy.
Karnail Singh knew how to enjoy the everyday and lived it to the fullest. He ate what he wanted - despite his daughter & grandson’s futile attempts at instilling a healthy diet, drank his peg’s (cocktails) - complaining to anyone who would listen when he wasn’t offered one and acted as our personal news reporter - informing his family about everything happening in Punjab and locally. A complete package!
He was also a true survivor, having lived through the 1947 India-Pakistan partition, the 1984 riots, multiple heart attacks and strokes, knee surgeries gone wrong and more. Yet every time, he came out stronger than he went in. Even when he didn’t have his knee and couldn’t bend his leg, his spirit never dampened. He continued to be fiercely independent, adapted to every hurdle that he encountered, and didn’t complain. Finding his own solace and routines, even in rough physical condition because of his knees, he’d learned the local bus routes and would take public transit to the gurdwara (Iocal temple) and back.
Not only was he a survivor, he was also a social butterfly! His biggest gift was being able to make new friends wherever he went. He was never afraid to call strangers over and ask them about their background or life history. A prime example was his relationship with the local bus driver, who not only became his good friend but would go out of his way to come to our home to pick him up and take him to the temple. Friends and connections meaning what they did to Karnail, it also wasn’t surprising when he played investigator and found a childhood friend from Pakistan and his family and kept in touch with them till his last days.
A man who loved learning, Karnail was always teaching himself something new. Whether that be English, how to use his new android phone, the latest social media - Youtube, Facebook (yes at 87 he had his own Facebook account), whatsapp and video messaging.
We will remember Karnail as someone who lived his life to the fullest, filled with family, friends, laughter and lots of love. Karnail leaves behind a devoted wife, daughter, son, 4 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren and 4 great grand fur babies. He will be dearly missed, but his memories live on with the ones he left behind.