Obituary of Soni Pancham
Sonilal “Soni” Ramsumair Pancham,
of Kingston, Ontario
Passed away at the age of 85, on November 17th, 2021. Soni had been coping with Alzheimer's for the past several years.
Soni was predeceased by father Harkoo, mother Mynie, brothers Bill and Hunter, sister Ann. Soni leaves behind beautiful wife Ira, sisters Rajandai and Molly, children Dave (Pari), Shelley (Chris), Paul (Roslyn) and Anna, grandchildren Annamarie, Nadia, Will, Ben and Patrick Sonny.
Soni was born in Trinidad “Land of the Hummingbird”. He immigrated to Montreal in 1956 to study Biology at McGill University, then went on to Toronto in 1960 for Medical School at the University of Toronto at which time he met Ira. They married in 1963 and then moved to Kingston in 1967 for his residency at Queen's University. Soni was the first person in his family of sugar cane farmers to go to university. He was an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Kingston General Hospital and a medical professor at Queen's University from 1971 to 2001. Upon retirement, he dove into volunteer work full time with medical missions in Zambia and Guyana and charity work with Save the Children Canada (all those holiday cards!) among other organizations. In his free time, Soni loved working in his award-winning garden and walking his much beloved dogs.
In lieu of flowers, a donation to Mission for Advancing Theological Education-Friends Committed to Caring would be greatly appreciated. This is an organization that Soni worked with extensively to help improve access to safe drinking water, medical supplies and clinics, and education in South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. Please direct cheques to MATE/FCC, PO Box 20060, 2900 Warden Ave, Scarborough ON, M1W 4B6 in honour of Soni Pancham.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, November 23 from 3-6pm at James Reid Funeral Home (1900 John Counter Blvd.). A funeral service will be held Wednesday, November 24 at 11am at St. Paul’s Anglican Church (137 Queen St.). Please arrive between 10:30-10:45 to allow time to complete contact tracing requirements. At both the visitation and service, guests will be required to show proof of double vaccination and wear masks at all times. At the time of publication, there were no restrictions or advanced registration required - if there are any changes after the time of publication, information will be available through St. Paul’s Anglican Church at 613 542 5870 or James Reid Funeral home at 613 544 3411. The funeral service will be streamed live for those not able to attend, please CLICK HERE to veiw.
Thank you to staff at the Kingston General Hospital and Arbour Heights Long Term Care Home for the wonderful care they provided. After so many years of taking care of other people it was wonderful to see him being taken care of so beautifully.
Soni was a warm and caring husband, father, grandfather and uncle; a kind and patient professor; a gifted caregiver to thousands of moms and babes and beloved by all. He will be profoundly missed and never forgotten.
