Hardy passed away at home in Victoria, B.C. at age 61. He had retired a year prior, and sadly did not get much time to enjoy the fruits of his many years of hard work. He is lovingly remembered by his wife of 39 years, Criena; daughters, Nakita and Kyra; mother, Amarjit Kaur; brother, Ken (Tashi); nieces, Anika (Rishi) and Ravina (Arif); nephew Kirin (Raj) and their respective children.
Hardy was an IT professional his more than 40-year career and enjoyed the challenges of practising his profession in many varied industries. In addition to working full-time, Hardy enjoyed a few years of part-time teaching and helping Criena to run a franchise operation. Hardy was an exemplary father to his daughters, always making it known they were his priority. Hardy was genuinely a very kind, caring, and compassionate man, whose main focus was always his family. The last 15 years of his career Hardy chose to commute regularly to Toronto so that his family could remain comfortably residing in Victoria. Hardy valued the many lasting friendships he made on the many projects he managed during his career. He was not one to make the effort to stay connected, but always appreciative of those that made the effort to remain connected with him. His viewpoint of life through the lens of a project manager sometimes frustrated his family, and we often told him to stop treating us like one of his projects. Although frustrating at times, his intent was to ensure we were prepared and taken care of, both in the present and the future. Hardy liked to say that he always planned for the worst, but then hoped for the best, knowing that every eventuality had been considered. His passing has magnified this perspective, as he has left us a year-long calendar with week-by-week instructions, for which we are very grateful. Hardy recently said that if he could convey one phrase to everyone it would be ‘he simply ran out of time’. Over the 39 years of marriage, Hardy and I were fortunate to have truly ‘lived’. Thanks to Hardy’s willingness to commute to Toronto frequently for work, our family has enjoyed the opportunity to travel extensively. We are grateful that we indulged in family travels, rather than saving them for his retirement years, as we will cherish those family memories.
As per Hardy’s wishes, a private funeral service has taken place.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
37 Responses
Dear Criena, Nakita, and Kyra,
I’m so sorry for your loss. Despite only meeting Hardy a handful of times, he was always so warm and friendly – your entire family has never failed to make me feel so supported and included. My thoughts and wishes are with you all. Sending lots of love.
Criena and family, so sorry to hear of Hardy’s passing. I very much enjoyed the years we worked together at Sierra Systems. My sincere condolences to you and the family
Bill
Dear Criena, Nakita and Kyra,
My deepest condolences to you three and also to the extended family. I really love the words in the obituary. It truly captured so much that is Hardy. I think I would only add that his project management and professional passions extended far beyond IT … to public policy and – shall we say – fairly strong geopolitical opinions. He could one moment wax eloquently about the problems of cross subsidies in the delivery of public services; talk passionately about the political situation on the subcontinent the next; then easily shift to the gap in true leadership on some project or country; and perhaps close off with some military anecdote inspired by his father’s life or his own experience at or near some airshow. Over the years he also talked often and proudly about the family’s philanthropic endeavours.
Much of what I know about project management I have learned from my stint at BCBC in the early days of my career and Hardy figured prominently in most of that. He pushed us to get some early industry certifications through leading by example. His experience at the SFU School of Business and subsequent encouragement led me to follow in his foot steps. To this day I quote him on occasion, particularly when there is a hint of a lack of project commitment in the air: Hey people is “is this a project or is this a happening?”. I can therefore quite confidently say that I owe much of my career to his early guidance and mentorship.
As you note, he was not always someone to keep in touch and sadly many of us suffer from that same ailment – I certainly do. As a result we connected far too rarely in the past few years even through I would say we have been friends for over 30 years. So, that “running out of time” notion has real meaning to me.
You are all in my thoughts and I will miss Hardy deeply – particularly the mischievous smile noted by Brent McGaw as well as the faux-serious look follow by that smile noted by Dennis Wellborn, earlier in these pages.
Dear Sekhon Family,
Like many who have written, I was shocked & saddened to hear about Hardy’s passing – I always respected & appreciated his wise counsel during our projects/collaborations at Infoway…thinking of you all during this difficult time.
Heartfelt condolences,
Anne
I am very sorry to hear the passing of Hardy. We worked together many years ago at Sierra Systems and found Hardy to be a joy to work with. My thoughts are with the family at this very difficult time.
Dear Sekhon Family,
I worked with Hardy for 11 years. He was truly an amazing person to work with. He always had a beautiful smile and caring personality. I loved talking with him when he was in the office. On his visits before Christmas, he would bring us homemade almond brittle and it brought me joy that he thought of us. That picture that you posted is how I remember him – that smile! I offer my deepest condolences to all the Sekhon family.
Dear Sekhon Family,
I had the pleasure of being one of Hardy’s colleagues in the Canada Health Infoway Toronto office. Hardy was an incredibly skilled project professional and a true gentleman. In addition to his professionalism, I’ll always remember stories he told me that made it clear how proud he was of all of you and how much you meant to him. He was extremely well-respected and well-liked by his Infoway colleagues. Please accept my condolences on your profound loss of this good man, gone far too soon.
Hi Criena,
We’re very sorry to hear of your loss. I always remember Hardy talking and looking at me very seriously, I would wait a second and grin back at him. He would always laugh.
Dennis
Criena so sorry On Hardy’s passing. Last time I saw him and your daughter we made a commitment to get together after his retirement. He was excited about getting a couple of new pups. The other day I was cleaning out my office and came across of picture of the three of us at Balboa Park in San Diego. So many fond memories of Hardy that will remain with me. My son, Chris, also got to know Hardy at Sierra Systems and he also has great memories as well as a trip to India which I am sure Hardy was responsible for. On the many projects we worked on I can always remember is words “Did you think about this?”
So sorry to hear of your loss. It was always a pleasure to hear about Hardy’s latest projects that he was so proud of. We will miss him and his friendly conversation. Please call on us if you need assistance with anything.