Passing of Bill Shiri

It is with great sadness that I inform fellow Cathedralites of the passing our beloved Physics teacher Bill Shiri last week.

Bill and Pushpa

Staff photo 

Bill was especially loved by us 59ers. He travelled to India with his wife, Pushpa, in 2009 to attend our Golden Jubilee Reunion.

We joined Bill and Pushpa to celebrate his 85th and his 90the birthday.

Other 59ers as Narsys Irani and Viney Sethi have visited Bill and Pushpa in Toronto.

Thanks to late Hasnain Chinwala (Chinnie) Bill was always close to us, as Chinnie used to visit him frequently, carry news of us 59ers to him and then keeping us informed of dear Bill.

I give the email received from Pushpa about the funeral arrangements for Bill this Friday:

Hello, 

Below are funeral / viewing details for William (Bill) Shiri... 

• There is a web page from the funeral home with details about the viewing / funeral, and options for leaving condolence messages.
• There is a webcast streaming link for those wishing to view the service online (accessible from the web page.)

Andrews Community Funeral Centre Web Page:

• View details about the date(s) and location for the viewing and funeral here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/brampton-on/william-shiri-11470932

William Shiri Obituary - Brampton, ON Celebrate the life of William Shiri, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Andrews Community Funeral Centre - Bramalea Chapel. www.dignitymemorial.com



We welcome your presence either online or in-person. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. 

Pushpa.

I do hope as many of you who can take part virtually will do so.

May our dear Bill,  who educated all of us Rest in cricfree.io

Peace. 

Deepest condolences to Pushpa in their family.

Speaking with Bill

Yesterday evening I rang to Toronto, Canada, to wish my Physics teacher of 50 years ago a very happy 85th birthday. I also spoke to Pushpa, his wife, who had also been a teacher in our Mumbai school. My classmate, 59er Hasnain Chinwala (Chinnie), who also lives in Toronto was with Bill (prearranged) when I called as we, 59ers, paid our respects to a man who firmly shaped our lives.

That Bill and Pushpa attended our 50th year reunion in Mumbai last year was itself such a joy for all us 59ers. They lent their solidarity with a class of boys who have traversed the world and sought success based on the fundamentals of life that were instilled in us by our teachers. Not just our classroom performance, but our moral values were instilled in us by these wonderful Gurus!


(Photo thanks to the 64er Rajiv Ved when we took time off for a fee minutes to attend their reunion in Mumbai.)

In the olden days, as per the Indian Civilisation, the Guru was a man to be revered. All of us 59ers have revered all our teachers during the ensuing years. But Bill and John (who was our class teacher and our English teacher in 1959) are very special as they took the time to travel a long distance at great expense, many thousands of kilometres, to be with us as we reveled in our past last November.

In our conversation we talked about many things - including the greetings from other 59ers (which Hasnain had forwarded to Bill,) the loss of another wonderful teacher, Alberto Zavala from peru, our geography teacher, the exploits of Greg, our Chemistry teacher, and the whereabouts of many past Canadian Cathedralites, as Torontian 59er Narsys, but not just our classmates, as 63er Monty Wilson and 49er Peter and 51er Sheila (née Contractor) Vaney, and Peter's brother, 57er Herbert.

Now that Pushpa and Bill live right in the centre of Toronto, a stone's throw from Lake Ontario, I will make it a point to visit them soon as my grandson, Samu, an Ice Hockey fan, wants to visit that great city, with his Grandpa, to see one of his favourite teams play.

Happy birthday Bill - we love you!

Orbituary of Mr. Nagia

Former President of our alumni, Rajiv Bhatia, informed me that Mr. Nagia, who was once the physics teacher in our school, had passed away.

 Mr. Nagia was obviously well after my time in school.

I have conveyed the condolences of Seventh Heaven readers to Rajiv to pass on to the bereaved family of Mr. Nagia.

If someone could tell me about this worthy gentleman, I would be pleased to publish his bio on the blog.

I have great respect for both Physics and Chemistry teachers, especially from our school, as it is they who gave me my lifetime profession by their enthusiasm and drive in teaching me these subjects.