Samittar Singh Uppal

One of the leaders of the Sikh Punjabi community, Samittar Singh Uppal, died February 19th, 2021, at Creekside Rehabilitation in Santa Rosa, CA.

Samittar Singh of Live Oak was born in Durhe, Punjab, India, on December 16, 1932, the firstborn son of Resham Singh and Kartar Kaur. He was raised in Beaspind, Punjab, India, where he was active athlete and scholar and earned bachelor’s degrees i n Philosophy, English and Urdu from P u n j a b Uni v e r s i t y , Chandigarh, India, in 1960.

After college, Samittar Singh was a teacher before migrating to England in 1961, to further his studies. In England, he became involved in social activism and was a leading member of the Indian Workers Association and supported families of the Indian diaspora establish new lives in England.

After his retirement in England in 1997, he moved with his wife Gurmit to California where he managed a Kiwi farm. He continued his activism in social causes and co-founded the Indo-american Cultural Organization. He was recognized with the highest honors in civic achievement by the California State Assembly.

He is survived by his wife, Gurmit Kaur Uppal, of Santa Rosa, CA; sons, Parmjit (Holly) of Santa Rosa, CA, and Balbir (Nirmal) England; 6 granddaughters; brothers, Mohinder, Avtar, and Kulwant, and a l arge extended family.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 6th, 2021, at 11am i n Santa Rosa, CA.