Over the last fifty years, we have found Professor Hari Singh Everest to be a great friend, very enlightened, understanding and a loving person with deep commitment to Sikhism, and best of all without any involvement in party politicking. It is indeed very sad to see him go and today we celebrate the life he has dedicated to the Sikh community. — Dr. Narinder Kapany

Professor Hari Singh Everest 1916-2011

Prof. Hari Singh Everest, 95, of Yuba City, CA passed away peacefully on August 18, 2011 at his home in Yuba City. He was born on January 16, 1916 in Lyallpur, West Punjab (now in Pakistan), India.

In his youth, he studied the Constitution of the US and found it paralleling his religious beliefs and values. This inspired him to immigrate to the US in 1955 on the immigration quota. In his own words: “I was a ‘British subject’ by subjugation, an Indian by birth, a Pakistani by circumstance, and an American by choice.”

A renowned scholar, he was fluent in 5 languages and earned two degrees from two universities in India and Pakistan. Shortly after arriving in the US, he gained admission to Stanford University, graduating with a Master’s degree in Communications in 1957.

He was a resident of Yuba City for the past 50 years. In that time, he became the first South Asian to teach in the Yuba-Sutter school system, teaching for 20 years until his retirement in 1981. His volunteer work included residing on the: California Department of Education Ethnic Advisory Council, PG&E consumer Advisory Panel, Sutter County Juvenile Justice Commission in which he earned ‘The Rodger Kunde’ Youth Leader of the Year Award for Outstanding Service to Youth 1990 and the Policy Council.

A prolific and persuasive writer, his articles and letters appeared frequently in the local press. He first started writing articles for Leader in Education Publication in Lahore, Pakistan for about 17 years. He went on to write poetry in which he adopted pen name ‘Everest” in his writing.

He dedicated much of his life to contribute to the Sikh way of life. He was an integral figure in the building of the first Gurdwara in Yuba City, and was the first stage secretary, serving as a spokesman and community representative for the Tierra Buena Gurdwara. He was the president of United Sikhs for Human Rights. He was the US representative for the Sikh Review and served as editor of the Sikh Sansar magazine. He also contributed to creating a directory of Sikhs in the United States. While in India, he even started his own magazine titled “Prem Pujari.”

Well into his retirement, he remained a voice for compassion and cross-cultural understanding, and an effective spokesman for the Tierra Buena Gurdwara around which he centered much of his life. His life was predicated along three simple rules he made for himself, a slight modification of 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) which he deemed “3FO,” (faith, family and fellowship).

He married Amar Kaur on June 7, 1938, and was married for 70 years until she passed away in 2008. He is survived by his son Paramjit Singh and daughter-in-law Surinder Kaur, daughter Manjit Kaur and son-in-law Harbhajan Singh, grandsons Jatinder Singh, Harpreet Singh and Harmantej Singh, granddaughters Prabhjot Kaur, Tejinder Kaur, Amarpreet Kaur and Harkiren Kaur and great-grandchildren Jaiveer Singh, Sahiba Kaur and Avleen Kaur.