Obituary of Chanchal Dhir

Chanchal Kumari Dhir
Dec. 3, 1941 - Nov. 28, 2022

We didn’t want an ordinary obituary for our mother because she was far from ordinary. Anyone who knew her can attest to that. A fighter with a generous spirit, she faced every challenge that came her way with determination and true resilience, And now, we celebrate her and everything she accomplished in life. 

Chanchal Kumari Dhir was born in Lahore to Satya Vati and Roshan Lal Bhalla. She grew up in Amritsar after her family moved from Pakistan to India during Partition. Like many women of her generation, her fate was written for her: Get married and have children. She accepted that but refused to be put into a box. With her mother’s support, she went to school and became a teacher even though her biggest dream was to become a singer or a nurse. That isn’t surprising, because she loved to sing and always helped others.

In 1966, she married Sunder Lal Dhir in Delhi and started her family. A new adventure called in 1972, when she boarded a plane for the very first time with her two kids, Indu and Naveen, to meet her husband for a new life in Canada. Together, the small family established their new home but not before welcoming Rajeev four years later. She lived through the next three decades juggling motherhood, a full-time job, and taking care of her elderly parents, all of which were often thankless jobs.

Her life changed in 2002 when she was diagnosed with liver disease. No one could see this coming. But rather than give up and give in to her “five to seven year” prognosis, she made it her mission to face the illness and give it the proverbial finger. For the next 20 years, she made positive changes and vowed to live life to its fullest by writing her own path instead of letting the illness dictate it for her. She traveled, enjoyed food, made new friends, got her driver's license, began new hobbies, and loved being a grandmother to her four grandkids, Avinash, Sia, Aarav, and Simran. But the disease finally caught up. Even through all the pain she experienced, she never asked anyone for anything. And the woman who never smiled spent the last few years of her life beaming and laughing. 

“A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend.” — Unknown
“I can imagine no heroism greater than motherhood.”— Lance Conrad

“Every manifestation of power in the universe is Mother.” — Swami Vivekananda

In lieu of flowers, we encourage donations in Chanchal's name to the Canadian Liver Foundation or the Hospital for Sick Children.