My dad, Amarjit Singh passed away at Griffith Base Hospital on November 19.
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He lost his battle with Motor Neurone Disease after fighting it for two and a half years. He made many friends in Griffith and loved to talk with everyone around town and was very connected with local issues.
Dad was born in the Northern Indian state of Punjab in 1941 to a farming family.
No one in his family was educated, but he still managed to get a Masters in Political Science and Masters in History, in the first division of Punjab University, a prestigious university in India.
He became a teacher and retired as a senior secondary school vice principal.
Dad loved to read, he spent most of his time doing so, at our home, we would have books and magazines from around the globe. He was extremely interested in politics around the world.
He had a love for writing and used to write columns in Indian newspapers. He used to write letters in The Area News and read it all the time no matter where he was around the world.
In 2000, my dad moved to Australia and settled in Griffith where the local community welcomed migrants with open arms.
He also went to the Sikh temple, and he enjoyed reading and singing (Kirtan) from the holy book Guru Granth Sahib.
He also went to the Anglican church every Sunday, where he made good friends among them Father Robert Harris.
My dad was also a member of the Labor Party and used to attend all their meetings.
He spent most of his time at the Griffith City Library and started his day reading newspapers like the New York Times and Sydney Morning Herald, although his favourite was always The Age from Melbourne, which he also wrote in.
My dad was also a Justice of the Peace and he helped people throughout the Indian community with translation and other tasks.
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Travelling was also one of his passions, he travelled to the UK after reading about Europe and its history to visit the Canterbury Cathedral and other historical sites.
He received great support from the community after he was diagnosed with MND.
I would like to thank Dr Abass and all the other doctors and nurses who were kind with him and tell him how they read his letters in The Area News which made him smile.
The people from the MND NSW were also really great and everyone should donate money to help find a treatment for this horrible disease.
Thank you to the local community, he really enjoyed life in Griffith. His funeral is on November 25 in Wagga Wagga.
His last service at the Sikh Temple is on the 26th.
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