Obituary of Prakash Kaur SINGH

Prakash Kaur passed away peacefully on Friday, August 12, 2016 at the age of 93 years following her courageous battle with a number of health complications at The Peter Lougheed Centre, Calgary. She was born in India and lived in Fiji for several years and spent the last 19 years in Canada where her youngest son Akball, his wife Seeta and their children, Amreet, Gurreet and Manreet took care of her but, most importantly, she loved taking care of them too. After losing her husband, Prakash Singh, 34 years ago and her son, Harjap, 13 years ago, she continued to be the source of strength for her family despite the crippling grief she felt. Her faith was unbreakable and it never faltered even at this time. Prakash was the most loving, kind, patient, thoughtful, forgiving and generous mother and grandmother and she devoted her life to her family and raised 6 children and helped with all 17 grandchildren. She never complained and if the words ever slipped out that she had pain, she would immediately try to make us feel better by saying, "but look at how old I am and what do you expect if not small aches and pains?". She fought her illness with the same strength and courage that she lived her life. Prakash loved to take care of everyone and her greatest joy was her children and grandchildren. A family friend reminded me of the time several years when she had become ill and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. She kept on telling the doctors that she wanted make tea for the doctors and nurses and also she had to go home to make tea for the children despite being so ill herself. At the time this was a cause of great amusement for the hospital staff and visitors alike. When she was healthy, she travelled the world to visit her family, relatives and friends. Despite her ailing health, she did not want to miss any important family events. Only this year she spent two months in her beloved India and three years ago she travelled to Fiji and New Zealand. In the past, she had made several trips to Australia, the USA and United Kingdom to see her family. Prakash had a passion for cooking and gardening and had grown every possible vegetable and grain that would possibly grow in Fiji. She loved the mountains, rivers and the sunshine in Fiji. Her love for animals was obvious and she had kept several dogs and cats in Fiji. We will always remember how she loved watching the monkeys at the zoo and said they were greater then us humans and she always smiled about her childhood memories of them. She was a meticulous housekeeper, tidying, cleaning and washing everything in the house. Prakash had so many cliches that we all laughed about and it was wonderful to see that smile on her face even in the last few days of her life. She told us stories of war time and when dad was in the army. She always reminded us that all families have differences but we are family and must take care of each other. Only several hours before she left us, she was making plans for us all and handing us responsibilities as to who was going to look after who. Prakash had five surviving children, Maskin Singh Kandola (USA), Sukhdev Kaur Nirwan (Fiji), Balbir Kaur Nirwan (New Zealand), Chris Bobby Gurmeel Kaur Rytir (Australia), Akball Singh Kandola (Canada) and she lost her beloved son, Harjap Singh Kandola, in 2003 (Australia). Many thanks to all the family members and the Punjabi community for keeping mum occupied with regular visits at home and at the hospital. She loved having visitors and she would have been so proud of the support her family received from everyone. Thanks to the doctors and nurses at Peter Lougheed Centre for being so professional and supportive of Prakash Kaur and her family. Funeral Services will be held at CALGARY CREMATORIUM CHAPEL, 3219 – 4th Street N.W., (within the valley of Queen’s Park Cemetery) on Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.