Piara Singh Cheema

We honor our father for overcoming the struggles that were so common among the early immigrants from India as they sought to establish a new life for themselves and their families in Canada.

Dad was born in Cheema Kalan village (Punjab) in 1932 where he spent the first 19 years of his life, before immigrating to Canada in 1952 with our mother. The journey began by oxcart to the bus station, followed by flights to London, Gander, and Montreal, before a cross-Canada train ride concluded at the CP Rail station in Vancouver. The overnight ferry brought the young couple to Victora where they stayed with relatives while Dad found work.

Steady work was found at the local sawmill which provided enough resources to purchase their first home close to the Tillicum Outdoor Theater, followed by a house on Helmcken Road. By 1958, the decision was made to purchase a small dairy farm in Sidney which became home and the base of operations. They operated a larger dairy farm in Cobble Hill from 1976 to 1979. A barn fire in 1978 in Sidney was enough to end their desire to continuing dairy farming. While full time dairy farming only occupied 20 of his 90+ years, it played an outsized role in his view of life and ultimately that of his children.

After the Sidney farm was sold in 1997, Dad settled into retired life, first with our mother Shiwinther, and then with his wife Pammi. Cruises, trips across Canada, and to the US and India were enjoyed. He always looked forward to visits from his family, relatives, and friends. Unfortunately, Covid and his health prevented him from enjoying these fully in the last few years. Even so, you could always expect a big smile as soon as he saw you.

Like many of that generation, the toll of providing for their families in a new and unfamiliar environment was challenging to say the least. While work, language and culture all created tremendous stress, providing for their families remained of paramount importance.

The lessons we learned from Dad were immeasurable and tied to his early experiences; work hard, go to school, find a way to get it done, work harder. One of his favorite sayings was “If you have time to play, you have time to work.” This meant that work always came first on the farm, often at the expense of social

activities.

Dad was very proud of his seven grandchildren; sadly, he did not stay long enough to meet his soon to be great granddaughter.

Rest assured, future generations will know of his hard work which gave our family a solid start in Canada. A great irony is that while we all tried to find ways to NOT farm, each one of us now take much pleasure in our gardens. And our favorite ingredient is good old fashion manure from local farms.

We are grateful to Pammi for the care, comfort, and companionship she provided to Dad over the past 27 years.

Pinder, Beree, Jackie, Chamkaur, Tarsame

Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.

Rabindranath Tagore