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Birinder "'Paul'" Cheema
August 18, 1931 - July 20, 2022
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<div itemprop="description">It is with great sorrow that we announce that Birinder Pal Singh Cheema, affectionately known as Paul, died peacefully on July 20th, 2022, surrounded by family. Married to Jennie (nee Price) for 60 years, they were inseparable, with a love that grew stronger each year. As a devoted father he was larger than life and will be deeply missed by his children: Sharon Kaur (Ian Hanchet), Devinder Paul Singh (Chantal Kilpatrick), Angeline Kaur, and Gerard Richard (father of Sean). His love for his grandchildren (Ryan, Sean, Aidan and Evan) knew no bounds. Paul was the last of his family’s generation, the youngest of seven siblings. He was a favourite uncle and chacha to numerous nieces and nephews in India, North Wales, England, Australia and the United States and a dear brother-in-law to Raymond and Shirley Price of North Wales. He formed lifelong friendships wherever he lived, worked and played, a reflection of his generous nature. <br> <br>Paul was born in Pipri, Uttar Pradesh on August 18th, 1931 and lived his early years on the royal estate of his aunt who was married to a direct descendent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In 1939, the family moved to their ancestral village of Badoki Gosaian in Gujranwala to manage their land. It was an idyllic, agrarian life with villagers of different faiths living together cooperatively. During the Partition of India in 1947, Paul’s family found themselves on the wrong side of the new Pakistan-India border and were forced to flee their village. They made their way, via several refugee camps, to a final camp in Amritsar where, once reunited, they settled in the city of Jalandhar in the state of Punjab. During the ordeal, Paul benefitted from the Sikh practice of langar, or community kitchen, and never went hungry. Once he was safe, he gave back by volunteering in the refugee camps near his new home. The experience also shaped Paul’s beliefs: to love your neighbour and to always choose peaceful resolution over conflict. A proud Sikh, Paul held true to the tenets of Sikhism: Truth, Compassion, Love, Humility and Contentment. In 1951, Paul sailed to England and settled in the city of Birmingham where he was later joined by his older brother, Raminder, with whom he shared a special bond. He worked several jobs, putting himself through the engineering program at the University of Astin. Through a blind date, he met the love of his life, Jennie, a nursing and midwifery student from North Wales. After completing his studies in 1961, he returned to India where he was hired by the Hindustan Steel Company in Rourkela, Orissa. His fiancée joined him in 1962 and they were married in a traditional Sikh ceremony. In 1964, with their daughter Sharon in tow, they embarked on a new and final adventure to Montreal, Canada. They initially rented an apartment in NDG before proudly buying a new house in DDO during the boom of Expo ‘67. Their son, Dev, and daughter, Angie, completed the family unit. Paul worked as a Senior Engineer at Northern Electric (Nortel) in Lachine his entire Canadian career, where he was held in high esteem by his colleagues, leading the Engineer’s Association and working as chief negotiator with the labour unions, until his retirement in 1996. <br> <br>It was a proud moment when Paul became a Canadian citizen in 1975. He took nothing in life for granted and was grateful for the opportunities this country provided, determined to fully integrate into Canadian society. Paul was a family man with a strong work ethic and was very involved in the running of the household. His rose garden was his pride and joy which he tended to diligently. A firm believer in healthy living, he exercised daily at home and participated for years in local community activities. During summer vacations, he took the family on numerous camping trips throughout the US and Canada. He was an enthusiastic follower of the business channel, CNN, hockey night in Canada, tennis and old movies. A charismatic and outgoing man, there was nothing Paul enjoyed more than dressing up for a party, stimulating conversation and good food. The consummate host, he enjoyed cooking for friends and family and was renowned for his curries. Always forward thinking, he bought his dream car, a Tesla, at the age of eighty-eight. He made time for everyone, in particular his children and grandchildren. He laughed often, forgave easily, expressed his love for us regularly and doled out hugs generously. He lived in the home he loved, as was his wish, until just a week before he died. <br> <br>The family is deeply grateful for the care provided by family doctors throughout his life (J.B. Lillie, R. Gut, O. Sevryugin), his cardiac team (B. de Varennes, P.L. Bernier, N. Gianetti) as well as nurse practitioner Lelia Holden, his ophthalmologists (J. Gomolin, S. Lindley, N. Saheb, H. El-Saheb), visual rehabilitation specialist Jacob Applebaum, the CLSC Pierrefonds SAPA and palliative teams (especially Genevieve Watier, Barbara Jean, and Ciprian Holban), as well as the wonderful staff and volunteers at the Teresa Dellar Palliative Care Residence where Paul received compassionate and dignified end of life care. Special thanks to neighbours and friends who looked out for Paul: Tamer Wahba, Meret Eldalil, Barbara Mawhinney and Dino Ciarma. <br> <br>The family will receive condolences on Friday, August 26th, 2022 from 3pm to 5pm & 7pm to 9pm at Rideau Funeral Home (4275, Sources blvd., D.D.O., QC – 514-685-3344), and starting 10:30am the following day. A celebration of Paul’s life will take place at the funeral home at 11am on Saturday, August 27th, 2022. <br> <br>The family wishes to thank the Teresa Dellar Palliative Care team for their kind and attentive care. In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Residence: https://residencesoinspalliatifs.ca/en/donate/ would be appreciated. In recognition of the care received, an anonymous donor has offered to match donations made to the Teresa Dellar Palliative Care Residence in memory of Paul. <br></div>