Annapurna Pandya

Annapurnaben was born in Adas, India and lived in India, Kenya and Canada. She lived a long, healthy and happy life and was able to enjoy watching three generations of her family flourish.

Annapurnaben will be sadly missed by her beloved husband of 73 years Vrajbihariroy (Roy), her children Jyotsna (Larry) Custead, Purnima (Michael) Lindsay, Shailesh (Daksha) Pandya, Kamalesh (Yogini) Pandya, Hasmita (Mitesh) Trivedi, Manisha (Naishad) Vyas, her eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren who adored, cherished and loved her dearly. Also in grief are her numerous relatives and friends all over Canada, India, England and the rest of the world.

Mom was born in Adas, India, the youngest child of Bhailabhai and Ichhaben. She was married to our father in 1947. After spending a brief time in Alindra, she accompanied her husband to Kenya and they embraced a large extended family, first raising her husband’s younger siblings in Nakuru and Kisumu and then continuing to play a significant role in their lives. Annapurnaben had a very close relationship with her father-in-law, Shantilaldada whom she considered to be her own father. Family was her world and she worked relentlessly and tirelessly to ensure their happiness first, before considering her own.

In 1967, Annapurnaben and the family moved to Saskatoon from Kenya and she went to school to learn English so that she could communicate with her new neighbours and friends. She did everything she could to ensure the family would have a smooth transition to Canada while continuing to maintain Gujarati values, traditions, and language with the family.

In 1975, Mom moved to Thompson with her family where she worked until retirement and later moved to Winnipeg. Annapurnaben and her husband continued to maintain a large home in Winnipeg where many gatherings and celebrations were held, including her recent 90th birthday. Mom was very independent and determined. She continued to run the household with love and kindness throughout her life.

Annapurnaben accompanied her husband all over North America with his volunteer involvements, always being the silent, but supportive partner. Her dedication was recognized by Lions International in the year 2000 when she received the Melvin Jones Fellow Award. She enjoyed travelling extensively with her family all over the world including many trips to India. She often spoke about a special world tour that her and dad took in 2002. It was the first time the two of them were able to enjoy a worry free holiday after many years of hard work and dedication.

Mom had an amazing memory and remembered details clearly, especially phone numbers, birthdates, anniversaries, and important events for everyone in the family. She was gifted in many ways, including her love for sewing, crocheting and most recently word searches.

We remember Mom ensuring that there was always tasty, freshly made food for every meal. Her reputation for being an amazing cook was well known throughout the many communities she lived in and she has passed many of her culinary skills to her children.

Our Mom was predeceased by her father, mother, brothers, sister, father-in law and mother-in-law.

Mom was a vegetarian all her life and lived an exemplary, spiritual and devoted life performing her pooja including abhishekam of the family lingam and bhajans each morning.

The Pandya family would like to express our appreciation to friends and family both locally and abroad who have shown their love and support in our time of grief and sorrow. We would like to extend our appreciation to Dr. Nkosi, Dr. Jose and Dr. Galloway for their kindness and care of our mother as well the many caregivers who have provided Mom support and compassion over the years.

A family funeral service will take place on December 15, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. (CST) with a public video presentation of the service and tribute available through Thomson "In the Park" Funeral Home Facebook link. All of you are invited to participate in the memorial service, you may follow this link to view the livestream service: https://www.facebook.com/1934981230093053

Our mother’s name, Annapurna is derived from Sanskrit, meaning the giver of food and nourishment. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of our dear Mom may be made to a charity of your choice that provides food and nourishment.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om