Obituary of Paul Singh Samra

Paul Singh Samra passed away on December 5, 2016 in Elk Grove, CA, he was 69. Paul was born on Oct 10, 1947 in Sacramento. His Dad, Dalip Singh Samra was a longtime prominent farmer in the Sacramento Delta and Elk Grove area since 1930. His mother Swaran K Samra (Basra) along with his father traveled from India to Pakistan during the Partition in 1947. Their tickets were pickpocketed while they were staying in Karachi Pakistan and thus, they were stranded in Pakistan for a month and a half until money was wired by Dalip's accountant. No planes were flying out of India at the time. They finally made it back to Sacramento on August 20, 1947. Paul attended Bates Elementary in Courtland and later Franklin Elementary. He belonged to the first graduating class of the current location of Elk Grove High School in 1965. He was very active in FFA and won the State written competition in FFA proficiency in farming mechanics and operation. He attended Sacramento City College but had to leave due to his father's illness. Being the oldest son he took on the responsibilities of the family. He acquired his trucking license at a young age and eventually in the early 70's opened the trucking business Samra Trucking. In addition, he worked for various farmers on the Delta and eventually concluded his trucking career in 1974 with TransArrow Trucking a division of General Produce in Sacramento. In 1975 he started the farming business on the family farm. His involvement with the family farm continued until his death.Paul was an avid reader and had traveled to India numerous times for extended visits. However, his greatest love was his entire family including his wife of 42 years Manjit, his son Steven (Deep) and daughter Monique. He is also survived by his brothers Harry (Sandy) and Peter (Nirmal) and his sister Norma (Charn). His nieces and nephews Christine, Jeffrey, Kimberly, Nicole, Surina, Jaclyn, and Samir as well as his three grandchildren Nisha, Sabreen and London