Gurcharan Singh

She was welcomed by her siblings Manmohan Bansal ‘Mohni’, sister Jaswant Bansal Sohanpal ‘Guddi’, and brother Avtar Bansal ‘Gogi’. A few years later she welcomed sister Baljit Bansal Bhamra ‘Dogo’ and many years later, late Hardeep Bansal ‘Bubbly’.

As her younger sister Dogo mentions, “Baby treated me like her ‘baby’ and younger sister. She was very clever in her studies, very brainy, and had lots of friends. She was also bossy but took good care of me. She used to help around the house as well as at the Glass and Furniture Shop, the family business.

After the independent Republic of Kenya was formed in 1963, Baby and her family migrated to Bilaspur Village in Ludhiana, India, by ship, to live with her Grandparents Chet Singh and Ajab Kaur.

In her late teenage years, Baby along with her sister Dogo were placed in a Hostel at Khalsa College for studies where she earned a Bachelor of Arts and a scholarship to continue her studies. Due to family circumstances, she did not pursue further education and went back to Kenya to help her family at the shop.

In 1982, Gurcharan came to India to get married to Joginder Singh Rehal who was visiting from America. Soon thereafter, Joginder and Baby settled in America and started a life of their own.

In 1983, after her father-in law, Kirpal Singh Rehal, passed away in India, she supported her mother-in-law, Dharam Kaur Rehal in coming to America. In 1984 and 1987, she gave birth to two sons Baljinder and Ajit, respectively. In 1990, she gave birth to her third son, Param, who was then adopted by her brother Mohni at birth. He lives with his parents in the UK.

In between raising kids, running a small business, a fabric store, and spreading kindness to those around her, Baby was the ultimate Superwoman!

Gurcharan leaves behind her husband Joginder, her sons Baljinder (BJ) and Ajit (AJ), her daughters-in-laws Sandeep and Ruby, along with grandchildren Arza, Zora, and Zayn.