Jagparvesh Singh Victor Gurm passed away on 12th April 2020 in Birmingham, United Kingdom, his funeral was organised by Dal Singh Dhesy and Ranvir Singh Virdi from the Sikh Community & Youth Service UK and took place on 21st May 2020. He was a very hardworking individual and made a lot of contribution for the Sikh Community in Greece where he lived for many years.
Jagparvesh Singh Victor Gurm was born on 15th May 1951 in the village Tamkaudi, Ludhiana. He was the grandson of Santa Singh and son of Capt. Bakhshish Singh Gurm and Kulwant Kaur. He came from a military background, and his father was a World War II veteran.
Jagparvesh was the youngest of 4 siblings, he had two brothers and one sister. Growing up, he was a dedicated and good student and participated in many events and activities. At a young age, he took Amrit. He had a fond interest in music and played the tabla.
During his last year in College, Jagparvesh’s sister passed away, due to the shock and grief, he decided to leave Punjab and go abroad. He went to Greece and enjoyed the culture and the people and settled there. Jagparvesh was a very hardworking and honest man, he enjoyed socialising and made many friends.
In 1994, Jagpravesh Gurm got married to Mandeep Kaur. Jagpravesh opened several businesses in Greece from restaurants to furniture stores. His most recent business was as a painting and refurbishing contractor for boats and ships and he employed many people. In 2005, Jagpravesh brought together the Punjabi community to establish the first Gurdwara in Athens.
He was the Founder and President of Shri Guru Nanak Darbar, Tavros, Athens, Greece. All of the members of the Gurdwara were his good friends who he had brought together to help setup and run the Gurdwara. Not only did Jagparvesh go above and beyond for the people of his community, but also for the people of Greece.
He was a very humble and selfless man, who would help anyone in need. Jagparvesh had a strong moral compass that would not let any wrong doings go unseen. Because people would place him in very high regards, he was a role model for the community.
His sense of humor and lively personality would brighten everyone’s day. Jagparvesh will be dearly missed by everyone that knew him. Jagparvesh became very close friends with Dal Singh Dhesy and Ranvir Singh Virdi when they visited Greece from the UK for the first time in October 2012. They together visited Shri Guru Nanak Darbar, Tavros in Athens.
Then the World War 1 Monastir Road Indian cemetery near Thessaloniki and World War 2 Phaleron Cremation Memorial in Athens to pay their respect to the fallen, particularly Sikh War Veterans. Their friendship grew stronger and in October 2015 all three of them visited the WW1 Helles Memorial which stands on the tip of Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey.
Then, in January 2017 they visited Pieta Military cemetery in Malta. Jagparvesh was very interested in these visits. He then went over to England and stayed with his friends in Birmingham. He went to see the Hall of Memory in Birmingham and also visited the WW1 Chattri memorial in Brighton.
His friends made two further visits to Greece with him, in November 2018 and November 2019. Because of his inspiring personality Jagparvesh had many friends across Greece, he also became good friends with Harcharan Singh Bahra, Ranjit Singh Randhawa, Tarjinderpal Singh Bains, Sohan Singh Dhesy, Amarjit Singh Johal and many others in the UK.
Jagparvesh was very interested in the history and commemorating the Sikh contribution in World War 1 and 2. In November 2019, Jagparvesh made a historical speech during the centenary remembrance gathering of World War 1 at Phaleron War Cemetery in Greece, this was the first time any Sikh would give a speech at such a large remembrance gathering in Greece.
Jagparvesh was a kind, compassionate, and a true gentleman. Sadly, there are few people like that in the world today. One of the saddest moments is when you hear of the loss of a friend. We were totally devastated on 12th April 2020 on hearing that he had passed away.
We will miss him greatly as he was our friend for forever. Friends are a gift from God, they bring us joy and happiness and help us in times of need. That’s why we can truly say how glad we were to have Jagparvesh as a friend.
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