Gursharan Bawa

Gursharan, affectionately known as Cheena, was born on September 13, 1940, in Lahore, India. She spent her childhood in Ghaziabad nearby Delhi and completed her Bachelor of Education at the Lady Shiree Ram College in Delhi. She married Avtar in January 1965, and they honeymooned in Shimla where they saw snow for the first time. As newlyweds they lived with Avtar’s family in Delhi for some time, where their first daughter Era was born.

In November 1966, with their young daughter Era they immigrated to Canada. Cheena followed her two older brothers Rughubir and Gurmuk (Gogi) Ahluwalia to Winnipeg, MB. Adjusting to the wintry weather was difficult at first but they endured through it and stayed in Canada much longer than they had initially planned.

While raising her three children Era, Neena and Jasvinder (Jassie), Cheena first worked as a substitute teacher then spent much of her career as a librarian at the Health Science Centre.

Together with her husband, Cheena successfully ran Waverley Esso in the late 80’s. They worked hard together to make this business venture a success. Avtar and Cheena took extraordinary pride in sharing their culture and food in the Winnipeg community and were an integral part of the multiculturalism movement in Winnipeg in the 70’s that led to Folklorama.

As a new Canadian, Cheena and Avtar embraced Canadian life and enjoyed camping and going to the beach. They took ballroom dance lessons together and were partners in bridge every Monday night for many years. They fostered a close connection with their friends, and most weekends involved going to their friends’ homes for parties where they drank, danced, and enjoyed delicious food until late at night. Cheena was a remarkable chef, and everyone admired her cooking abilities. In her 30’s, at her home in Westwood, she held cooking classes to teach others how to make good Indian food. She also mastered many Western dishes including everyone’s favourite being her pizza.

After 35 years in Winnipeg, she moved to Surrey, BC to escape winter and be closer to family including Era and her mother Bibiji. She lived there for 22 years and kept a healthy active lifestyle exercising, playing bridge, gardening, and travelling to many places abroad including India, Nepal, Thailand, China, Mexico, the Maritimes, Alaska, and Europe. She took the most pleasure in in being a grandmother to her five granddaughters.

Cheena returned to Winnipeg in 2022 after her battle with cancer began. She lived with her daughter Neena, son-in-law Nitin and granddaughter Natasha until September 2025 when she moved into the Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence. There she regained her independence in a safe environment and enjoyed playing bingo, attending exercise classes, and winning money at poker despite being a novice. Candy Crush stayed integral to her daily life, she achieved level 13,300 which is an amazing feat.

Cheena will be reunited with her beloved husband Avtar and cherished daughter Era (Robin). She will be deeply missed by her children Neena (Nitin), Jassie (Dyana) and her five granddaughters: Tia (Jessica), Elisha, Natasha, Chloe, and Maya.

We will gather to honour Cheena's life with a service at Thomson "In the Park" on April 17 at 10 am, immediately followed by Ardaas and langar at the Winnipeg Sikh Centre (1248 Sikh Centre Way).

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the staff at Riverview Health Centre, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg Home Care, Victoria General Hospital, and the Shaftesbury Retirement Home.