Obituary of Rampati Sookrah

RAMPATI SOOKRAH (KULU) March 20, 1925 - January 18, 2013 Our beloved Father made a sudden exit from his very vibrant golden years at the age of 88. Predeceased by his wife of 43 years, Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie), he leaves behind with fond memories his seven children Teresa (Suresh), Anthony, James (Mariana), Andrew (Peggy), Bernadette (Luke), John (Seeta), Joseph (Wendy), grandchildren, Robin (Anna), Christopher, Michael, Shivani (Ron), Kavita (Sameer), Vijay, Anand, Alina, Ravi (Meghna), Adrian, Teresa, Richard, Anita, Natasha and Great-Grandchildren Amin, Safia and Jaseena. As a young boy growing up in Leguan, in the then Colony of British Guiana, now Guyana, he enjoyed his carefree days of roaming the backdam \"ketchin fish\" and live crab when \"crab a march\", all the while beautifully singing his favourite Pradeep songs and reciting the poetry he learned in school. That love of the open country, his singing, delivering a well-crafted speech and his independence and freedom stayed with him all his life. From the days of conducting business in Leguan at his Texaco Gas Station (and selling Phillips radios, Goodyear tires, RedSpot soft drinks, Coca Cola, etc.) and presenting the hit movies of the day at Laxshmi Cinema to his adventures at the paddy fields and rice mill at Plantation Fairfield on the Essequibo Coast, he maintained this independent free spirit. Emigrating from Guyana with his beloved Lizzie, they were reunited with their children here in Canada where they were blessed with 13 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. The family wishes to acknowledge with sincere appreciation and gratitude the support, care and love he found from the staff (and fellow residents) at the St. David's Village retirement community building at 1290 Danforth Road, Scarborough, he lived in for so many years. He will be sadly missed. Viewing will be held at the Ogden Funeral Home, 4164 Sheppard Ave. E., Scarborough, on Monday, January 21st from 6:00- 9:00 p.m. with a funeral service to be held in the Ogden Chapel on Tuesday, January 22nd at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the SickKids Foundation.