Obituary of Karnail Cheema

KARNAIL CHEEMA OBITUARY Karnail Singh Cheema, of Yuba City, CA, passed away November 17, 2022, at the age of 69. He was born November 15, 1953, in Cheema Kalan, District Jalandhar, Punjab, India. He was the son of Sohan Singh and Tej Kaur Cheema. He immigrated to America in December of 1968, with his father, and sister to join his grandparents and uncles, who were living in Yuba City. Karnail was an active member of the Yuba-Sutter community for over 54 years. He was an Amritdhari Sikh, who loved and lived for community service. Moreover, he served as a director for the Tierra Buena Yuba City Sikh Temple for decades. His favorite time of the year was the annual Yuba City Nagar Kirtan which he gracefully attended every year since the first one in 1979. His occupation and passion was fruit and nut farming, similar to his ancestors. His favorite fruit remained peaches which he and his family have been farming for over 75 years. He believed the greatest profession on earth was farming since without them the world could not eat. When he was not working on the family farm he loved to spend time with his large 300 people plus extended family. To each and every person he knew and touched he was a father, brother, uncle, friend and confidante. He may not have been the eldest of our family, but he was definitely the leader. There was not a single family occasion where he didn't step up to ensure everyone was following the traditions of our ancestors and everything did run smoothly. He cared deeply for his wife of over 46 years, Ranjit Kaur Cheema, twin daughters Sandeep Kaur Jaspal, Mandeep Kaur Biring, sons Harpreet Singh Cheema and Sanpreet Singh Cheema. Karnail is survived by his wife, Ranjit Kaur Cheema; daughter, Sandeep Kaur Jaspal and son-in-law, Jagdip Singh Jaspal; daughter, Mandeep Kaur Biring and son-in-law, Amarjot Singh Biring; son, Harpreet "Harry" Singh Cheema and daughter-in-law, Amanjyot Kaur Cheema; son, Sanpreet "Sunny" Singh Cheema and daughter-in-law, Lovepreet Kaur Cheema. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Neerij Singh Jaspal, Harleen Kaur Biring, Jashan Singh Biring, Gurshaan Singh Cheema and Simran Kaur Cheema; one fraternal niece, Navdeep 'Navi' Kaur Cheema; one fraternal nephew, Pinderdeep Singh Cheema; one sister-in-law, Gurbax Kaur Cheema; and three sisters, Balbir "Pero" Kaur Johal, Shaminder "Sherry" Kaur Uppal, and Palo "Gago" Kaur Phagura. He is also survived by many aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, nieces, and nephews. Karnail was predeceased in death by his loving brother, Jarnail "Juddi" Singh Cheema; parents, Sohan Singh and Tej Kaur Cheema; paternal grandparents, Ujager Singh and Karter Kaur Cheema; maternal grandparents, Phakir Singh and Eser Kaur Sandhu; and great-great-uncle, Lakhan Singh Cheema. Funeral services will be held November 25, 2022, 11AM-1PM, at Ullrey Memorial Chapel, 817 Almond St., Yuba City. Religious services will be held at the Sikh Temple, Tierra Buena Rd., Yuba City.