Harjinder "Jim" Singh Bagri

Harjinder “Jim” Singh Bagri

Nov 15, 1939 - Feb 25, 2022

Harjinder “Jim” Singh Bagri passed away on February 25, 2022 in Escondido, California. He was born in the city of Jalandhar, Punjab, India, and grew up as the youngest of nine children. In 1959, he graduated from Polytechnic college with an electrical engineering degree. He loved building things and was always helping out those he loved with his exceptional design & fabrication skills.

In 1962, his Father helped him acquire a passport, which was difficult to get back then, and bought him a one way ticket to London, England where his sister and brother-in-law lived. Jim worked as a machinist in an engineering factory, did research & development for Metal Box Co, and acquired a degree in plastics technology over the course of his 17 year stay in London.

In 1968, he married Sarojini Sondhi, and together they raised two children, Sandy & Angela. In 1979, Jim had the opportunity to come to America with his family and landed in North Carolina, where he bought his first small motel business. After gaining experience and saving up money, he purchased three more larger hotels and managed all of them. He was quite a clever businessman and led a life of hard work and dedication to build a bright future for his family and future generations. 

In moving to California in 1994, he acquired and managed another hotel. Ultimately, his wish that his son and daughter would choose to continue running the family business came true, and he was able to retire comfortably in 2015.

Jim enjoyed designing and building light sculptures, woodworking, and he generally knew how to fix anything. He had a love for Indian music, quality foreign cars, and eating spicy Indian food. He was caring and generous to those around him, had a great sense of humor and always enjoyed making people laugh. Jim appreciated the simple things in life such as the warmth of the sunshine and the beauty of nature.

Jim is survived by his wife Saroj, his two children Sandy & Angela, and two grandchildren, Kai & Grayson. He will live on through our hearts and in our memories, and he will be deeply missed.

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