“So come, my friends, be not afraid. We are so lightly here. It is in love that we are made. In love we disappear.” – Leonard Cohen.

It is with these words that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Gurinder Brar.

Our father suddenly passed away in our loving mother, Neelam’s, arms on August 10, 2022, in the home in which they raised us in Mississauga, Ontario.

Dad was born in Patiala, India, to our grandparents Gurdip and Jagjit, who would resettle their family in Montréal, Québec in the early 1960s. With their parents working hard to provide, my father and his younger brother, Deepinder, often found themselves in unsupervised mischievous explorations of Ville LaSalle.

Our father married the love of his life in July 1983, with Jeevan being born in November 1984 and Pavan in April 1991. Despite relocating the family to Mississauga, Ontario, in 1994, our father maintained his lifelong devotion to the Montréal Canadiens and made sure that we never rooted for the Leafs. Ever.

Our father’s career choices found him in new and exciting places, including the Northwest Territories, Madagascar, Panama, and St. John’s Newfoundland.

As an epicurean and well-read man, dad’s curiosity for different cultures led him on adventures across the world – with a particular fondness in returning to Paris multiple times with his beloved wife and children.

Dad’s interest in music and photography, as well as his sharp wit and sense of humour, have been passed down to us—just as it was to him from his father. In recent years, dad rediscovered his love of the visual arts, producing several personalized works passed down to family and friends.

Our father will also be missed by his in-laws, Susan, Kamal (Sonia), and Sharda; nieces Anisa, Aarti (Sandeep), Aashna; nephews Arun, Bobby (Rina), Armaan; uncle Amarjit; and cousins Amarinder (Beena) and Sonya.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a charity of your choosing. Gurinder enjoyed music and the arts.

Please join us in commemorating our father.