SARUP SINGH PADAM

Sarup Singh Padam was born on July 22nd, 1935 in the village of Sakroudi in Punjab, India. Early in his life, his father Sardar Daulat Singh Padam and mother Sardarni Bhagwan Kaur Padam decided to move their family of seven to Patiala. Sardar Daulat Singh was a well-respected contractor who wanted Sarup to study abroad to become an engineer so that he could eventually help him with the family business, specifically in designing and construction.

In 1959, at the age 24, Sarup traveled via an Italian ship on his pursuit of higher education in the United States. Having difficulty sending his son to be on his own, Sardar Daulat Singh traveled the long trip to Cochin seaport in Kerala via train with Sarup to see him off. The journey to the United States took over one month. Sarup did not know anyone on the ship and was introduced to new things, such as pasta, for the first time during his voyage.

Sarup graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in Civil Engineering. He chose the field of Civil Engineering specifically because of the emphasis on waterways, such as canals or natural waterways, bridges, dams, walls, load bearing elements of buildings, and roads as well as the inclusion of aspects of structural engineering. Throughout his education, Sarup worked many laborious jobs to support himself and alleviate the financial pressure on his parents.

In 1964 he decided to move to Canada, immigrating to Vancouver, British Columbia. Not knowing anyone in this new city, he stayed at the YMCA in downtown Vancouver until he settled in. Coming from the student lifestyle in Nevada, Sarup frequented The University of British Columbia campus where he made many friends who were at the same walk of life. Despite several interviews, Sarup was unable to secure a job in his initial days here in Canada. A hiring manager suggested it was due to his appearance as a turbaned and bearded Indian man. Sarup made the difficult decision to cut his hair and was eventually able to secure a job. Majority of his professional career was spent working as an Engineer at BC Hydro where he worked on many well documented projects including the Revelstoke Dam, Mica Dam, and 100-Mile House Dam, and was one of the original Engineers studying the infamous Site-C which has finally come to fruition.

In 1968, after nine years abroad, Sarup traveled back to India to get married. On May 10th, 1968 he married Jaswinder Kaur Bhoey.

JASWINDER KAUR PADAM (NÉE BHOEY)

The second eldest daughter of Sardar Bakhshish Singh Bhoey and Sardarni Inder Kaur Bhoey (née Rajpal), Jaswinder Kaur Padam (née Bhoey) was born on November 26th, 1948 in the district of Faridkot in Punjab, India. Her father, Sardar Bakhshish Singh, was a well-known Engineer who put a strong emphasis on education for all his children and her mother, Sardarni Inder Kaur, was the daughter of a Lambardar, who highly valued proper etiquette. As such, Jaswinder studied at the Government Model School Hathi Khana, Patiala and the High Secondary School Old Police Line, Patiala while also being a part of the National Cadet Corps. In 1964 she began her Bachelor of Arts at the Government College for Women, Patiala before getting married on May 10th, 1968.

In July of 1968 she moved to Canada to begin her new married life. She completed her Diploma in Drafting from Vancouver Community College and worked at BC Hydro until 1981 before moving on to Kilborne Engineering where she worked until 1994.

Jaswinder was a selfless individual who always put the needs of others before her own. She found joy in nurturing children, and not having kids of her own, she devoted her time to the kids of her family and friends. There are not enough words that can be strung together to explain the truly magnificent individual that she was, but we hope to show a glimpse of her radiant personality through stories shared by her loved ones.

SARUP AND JASWINDER PADAM

In 1968 Sarup and Jaswinder embarked upon their new life together here in Vancouver, BC. Not knowing many other families, they had to get creative in how they made friends. One such story is when Sarup searched a phone book to find a Punjabi last name. He came across just one other entry of the same last name as his own and called the family up, and so began a lifelong friendship. Their friends became their family and not having kids of their own, they loved the children of their friends like their own, celebrating their every achievement and milestone. Their door was open to everyone and they even kept a spare key under their doormat in case someone stopped by when they were not home. Their kind and nurturing nature made them everyone’s favourite couple.

They were an adventurous couple who loved to travel, be out in nature, and play sports including tennis and ice skating. Their friends say that they were out and about every weekend and that their cars were always packed and ready to go for an impromptu camping trip. Living well, including dressing well and eating well are two of the things they are known for. Sarup had a passion for trying new and exotic foods while Jaswinder loved baking and cooking and testing out new recipes. You could say they were a match made in heaven, and the best hosts to all their family and friends. They didn’t take a single moment for granted and lived their lives to the fullest.

Together, they became the center of both their friends and family circles. In 1974, Sarup sponsored his nephew Darshan Munday to come to Canada and helped him get established. In 1990, he adopted Karman Padam, his younger brother’s daughter, and brought her to Canada for schooling. Sarup and Jaswinder poured their heart and soul into supporting their family and friends, doing all that they could to help them succeed.

Unfortunately, on September 15, 1995, after 27 wonderful years filled with love and adventure, Jaswinder passed away after a 2 year long battle with lung cancer and on August 8, 2019, Sarup passed away due to glioblastoma, an advanced form of brain cancer.

Sarup and Jaswinder blessed everyone they met and had an extraordinary ability to connect with any kind of person. They lived a full life and experienced more in their 27 years together than most people have the privilege of experiencing in a lifetime. No length of biography can express how special both Sarup and Jaswinder were, but we hope to give you a small insight into their personalities and lives through the stories we have gathered from their family and friends.