| Dr. Balwant Singh |
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Dr. Balwant Singh, 85, of 112 Jean Blvd., Lewisburg, passed away Sunday, December 30, He received his undergraduate and Master’s degree in Economics from Punjab University in 1950 after which he taught at Punjab University’s Camp College in Delhi. In 1959 he earned another Master’s Degree in Statistics from Delhi School of Economics. He taught at Delhi University until 1963 before migrating to the United States to pursue further education. He went on to earn a Master’s and PhD in Econometrics under Nobel Laureate Lawrence R Klein from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. In 1967 he continued his teaching career at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA. During his tenure at Bucknell, Dr. Singh was honored with the distinction as the Christian R. Lindback Chair in Business Administration. Dr. Singh has authored several papers on Financial Theory, Development Economics, Urban Economic and Econometrics. While at Bucknell he was instrumental in the establishment of the South Asian Student Association. In 1993 he and his wife, Bimla were honored with the Burma- Bucknell Award for International and Intercultural Understanding. Retiring in 1993 he continued to take every opportunity to promote understanding of Sikh Scripture. Dr. Singh was a practitioner of Sikhi, member of the Sikh faith. His passion for his faith prompted him to focus on the Sikh Youth in America. In 1974 he realized his vision of establishing the first Sikh Youth Camp, leading it for 25 years. Dr. Singh recently completed a collection of books on Sikhism directed to support the young and broader American Sikh Diaspora community. Surviving in addition to his wife are one son and daughter-in-law, Ravinder “Pinto” and Joanne Singh, of Chesapeake, VA; one daughter and son-in-law, Tripat Singh and Stanley Frankel, of Lewisburg; two brothers, Joginder Singh, of Jallandhar, India and Harcharan Singh, of London, England; two sisters, Satinder Sodhi, of Manassas, VA and Satnam Sodhi, of VA; and four grandchildren, Ariel Frankel, Jordan Singh, Dejah Singh and Benjamin Frankel; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and relatives in India. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by two sisters, Daljit Kaur and Jasbir Kaur and one brother Sujan Singh, Friends will be received from 1 to 2 p.m. with the funeral service at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 5, 2013 at Cronrath-Grenoble Funeral Home, South Second and St. Louis Streets, Lewisburg. The family will provide the flowers and suggests memorial contributions be made to Evangelical Community Hospital, One Hospital Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837. If you would like to send flowers or a memorial gift to the family, please visit our |
2012 at his home surrounded by his family. He was born on August 15, 1927 in the village of Naushera, district of Sargoda, what is now Pakistan. In 1947 he and his family migrated to New Delhi, India, a son of the late Arjan and Rajkaushalaya (Kaur) Singh. On December 5, 1954 he married the former Bimla Mahindro, who survives. Together they celebrated 58 years of marriage.|
TRIBUTES I am sorry to inform you of the sad demise of Dr. Balwant Singh ji. He made tremendous contribution in making Sri Hemkunt Foundation a grand success. He had been the chair-person of the Foundation's literary-committee. All the credit goes to him in selecting and prescribing age-appropriate books for the symposium. Initially, he prepared questions for all five age-groups and later edited/finalized questions prepared by other volunteers. Besides working with the Foundation, he was actively involved in starting/supporting Sikh-youth camp in New-York region for over 40 years. Even during his last days, despite his failing health, he mustered all his strength to write four volume book on Ten-Gurus lives. He took care that the English used is of the highest standard prevalent in the western world. At his request, family held an Akhand Paath during his last days with the bhog held a day before he breathed his last. There can not be a better example of a saintly soul. His funeral details are listed above for your information. His wife - Bimla Kaur ji - can be reached @ 570-524-7519. Karamjit Singh516-214-4510 --------------------------- Professor Balwant Singh to Timeless Sikh activist Balwant Singh, professor emeritus of management at Bucknell University, left for his journey to timeless on December 30, 2012. He was 85. Among Sikh circles Prof. Balwant Singh was known for his pioneering work to host Sikh Youth Camps in Pennsylvania. Working with him and Dr. IJ Singh, all three of us recall spending many weekends in exploring ways to attract Sikh youth and Sikh community towards the community building projects in North America particularly through youth retreats. Balwant Singh was very devoted and resourceful colleague in the youth camps and many other community projects. His wife Bimla Kaur too was a constant supporter. In this regards they spent later years in working with Hemkund Foundation in organizing youth competitions and education. They reviewed and selected books on Sikhism for the International Sikh Youth Symposium held annually in various countries in the Western Hemisphere. Each year thousands of Sikh boys and girls read these books and make presentations at regional and national levels. Dr. Balwant Singh completed his degrees in economics from Punjab University and the Wharton School as well as a master's degree in statistics from the Delhi School of Economics. He was a research fellow with Nobel Laureate Lawrence R. Klein at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Balwant Singh joined the Bucknell faculty in 1967 and retired in 1993. While at Bucknell he held the Christian R. Lindback Chair in Business Administration and served as a visiting scholar at Cambridge University in 1979 and 1987. In 1993 the Singhs received the Burma-Bucknell Award for International and Intercultural Understanding. We will miss Professor Balwant Singh a lot while celebrating his life. I hope to write more on his life in coming days and like the readers to share with me their memories of Professor Singh. Dr. Harbans Lal, Dallas/USA##### --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related Articles: |