Peacefully following a lengthy illness, it is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Balbir Singh Dhillon with his family by his side on Saturday, July 1st, 2023 at the age of 75 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Balbir will be sadly missed and was survived by his wife of 58 years Lakhbir Kaur Dhillon, his daughter Permjit Kaur Randhawa (Davinder Singh Randhawa), his son Amerjit Singh Dhillon (Sukhpreet Sandy K. Dhillon), and his grandchildren Sartaj Singh Dhillon and Armaan Kaur Dhillon, whom he deeply loved. Balbir was also survived by his brother Darshan Singh Dhillon (Gurmail Kaur Dhillon) and sisters Simran Kaur Basra (Hardev Singh Basra) and Pritham Kaur Basra (Late Satnam Singh Basra). Balbir was also survived by his many nieces and nephews whom he considered like his own children. Balbir was predeceased by his beloved father Kartar Singh Dhillon and mother Bishan Kaur Dhillon. He was also predeceased by his youngest brother Joginder Singh Dhillon (Manjit Kaur Dhillon) and middle sister Mohinder Kaur Mann (Gurmej Singh Mann).
Balbir was born on August 8, 1947 in Goraya, Punjab, India. He attended his schooling years in India and did attend college briefly in India. A few years after his marriage to Lakhbir, Balbir would move to Leicester, England where he would embark on the start of his lengthy career in the transit industry. He completed 11 years of driving for Leicester City Transport before he moved to Winnipeg in 1978 at the request of his brother Joginder. After meeting all Canadian immigration requirements, Balbir was able to join Winnipeg Transit in 1980. His career with Winnipeg Transit spanned over 31 years before retiring in 2011 earning numerous safe driving awards and other accolades. Balbir was known by his driver colleagues either as “Bal” or “Marshall Dhillon” after the famous Gunsmoke TV show character. “Bal” was the goto guy if you were a transit operator looking to get rid of your shift. He was the first driver everyone would call knowing that “Bal” was responsible and dependable to take over their routes. Balbir rarely said “no” to an overtime shift and would cancel attending functions if it meant attaining an overtime shift. A true workaholic. However after the births of his grandchildren Sartaj and Armaan, Balbir would decline those shifts with the purpose of spoiling his grandchildren. Any opportunity to indulge Sartaj and Armaan with McDonalds was taken. Ironically as Balbir’s Lewey Body Dementia progressed, it was Sartaj and Armaan who would drive their “Baba-Ji” to McDonalds to enjoy his decades favourite, Fillet-o-Fish, French fries, and a small coffee. He loved them immensely and they loved him. Balbir was extremely proud when they entered St. John’s Ravenscourt School and would have been even more overjoyed to know that they were attending post-secondary education outside of Winnipeg achieved by way of scholarships. Education was always top priority for his children and grandchildren and any expense was always justified in the name of higher education.
The family would like to acknowledge and thank the doctors, nurses, and health care aides on the 3rd floor of Concordia Hospital. A special thank you to nurses Krystun, Kristy, Jenni, and Cassandra who showed Balbir the utmost respect and dignity during his last few weeks in palliative care.
A Funeral Service will take place at Thomson “In the Park” Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1291 McGillivray Blvd. on Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. Prayers at Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara located at 900 McLeod Avenue to follow.
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