Dad died peacefully at home on December 22, 2021 spending his last few days surrounded by family. Born in Victoria at St. Joseph’s Hospital on September 25, 1936 to Sohan Singh and Beant Kaur Basi, Dad was one of 4 children.
Predeceased by his sister Bibi and sister-in-law Geri, he is survived by his wife Raghubans, children Ron (Gwen), Teri, Rob (Chris), and Kim; grandchildren Jenna (Stacey), Cameron, Ryan, and Graham. He will be greatly missed by family members and his many friends.
Dad grew up on Market Street spending the majority of his youth hanging out with his brothers (and best friends) Kirp and Jerry. At the age of 8, sitting on a block of wood with blocks on the pedals, Dad started to drive his father’s ’42 Dodge wood truck. He got caught occasionally, each time costing his father a bottle of rye when he was picked up from the police station. In his youth he developed lifelong meaningful friendships growing up with members of the East Indian community while working around the wood mills and lumber yards in Greater Victoria. Dad attended SJ Willis in grade 8 (for two years) where he learned that if you bought your teacher cigarettes they were obliged to share them with you. He learned how to smoke in the metal shop. At 14, his first job was as a stencil boy at Highway Sawmills. At 16 he worked at Plumper Bay where he drove a lift truck loading lumber on his father’s truck using a sling rather than forks; this was no small task. At the end of his second grade 8 year he started truck driving for Ideal Fuel hauling wood up and down the Island. However, it wasn’t until Dad turned 21 that he actually got his license. In the following years he was considered to be one of the best two-stick gear jammers around. He and Mom married on February 23, 1958 raising their kids in Victoria. He worked for Ideal Fuel until 1984 when the company, as Dad would say, went belly up. He then drove for Doman’s and Blue Star Transport until he retired in 2001.
Not one to mince words, Dad will be remembered as an upbeat, to the point, caring guy who’d give you the shirt off his back. With his blue collar upbringing he knew where he came from and how to command a room with his stories and humour.
He loved his grandchildren, niece, nephews, and had an incredibly soft spot for animals.
With consideration to the current Covid-19 situation, a private Funeral Service was held. A recording of the service can be found below.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Royal Jubilee Hospital: Heart Function Clinic, 1952 Bay Street, Victoria, BC V8R 1J8
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com.
66 Responses
Kim, Our condolences to whole family during this difficult time. I met your father a few times he was very welcoming and friendly. RIP.
Sending lots of love,
Tommy, Asha, Kavita and Sean
My sincerest condolences to you Kim & your family. “Thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and a picture in a frame. Your memory is a keepsake, with which I’ll never part. God has you in his keeping, I have you in my… heart.”
Condolences to the Basi family for the loss of your dad & husband . Gurdial had some funny stores of trucking and I loved his laugh. He will be greatly missed.
Lisa & Andrew Edwards
Dearest Basi family
Our deepest condolences to your family . We are so sorry for your loss.
He was a very kind and funny man , he will be missed .
RIP Gurdial Basi .
Our thoughts are with you guys
Asha Dheensaw McLeod and Piari Dheensaw
Harry
Condolences to your family.
Our deepest condolences to the Basi family. We had The pleasure of getting to know Gurdial and had the best time at their wedding anniversary. He was very kind and welcoming to our family and we know he will be missed and was well loved.
So sorry to hear about your loss. We will always remember the joy of accepting your family invitation to dinner – can’t decide if it was your mom’s butter chicken or your dad’s excitement describing, in great detail, which WWE wrestler will win the match.
Always thinking of you and your family.
Stay strong!
Our condolences to all the Basi family for the loss of your dad and husband. Keep strong. Les and Irena
Dear Raghubans, Ron, Teri, Rob, Kim and families
Our sincerest condolences on the loss of Gurdial.
Gurdial will be remembered as a man with a quick wit and wonderful sense of humour who could bring laughter to a silent crowd. He was generous with his time and valued those he came into contact with.
Dad thoroughly enjoyed his weekly coffee sessions with Gurdial at Ronald’s house. There would be a lot of bantering, reminiscing and laughter. Gurdial shared many of his wonderful stories and had the boys in stitches. Gurdial was a Prince of a Man and King of the Court.
Gurdial was well renowned for his mastery skill set behind the wheel of a truck. If there was a Truckers’ Hall of Fame, Gurdial would be an Honourary Member.
Sincerely,
Nim, Gurdeep and family
Dear Rob and Family, we are so sorry to hear of the news of your Dads passing. He will be missed by all. Our thoughts and Prayers are with you all.