Post Mills, VT – Our beloved wife, mother, sister, cousin, friend Gurmit (Gita) K Grewal of Post Mills, Vermont and Tucson, Arizona left us peacefully on April 6, 2026 surrounded by her loving family.
Gurmit’s life was filled with change and tumult from the time that she was very young. She was born in Jamshedpur, India in 1942 then moved to an area of Punjab that was to become Pakistan during Partition in 1947. Gurmit, her parents and her cousins survived the harrowing experience of Partition, traveling on foot under unimaginable conditions, temporarily settling in a small village in what became Indian Punjab. After that she lived with her grandmother and cousin Amarjit in Ludhiana for several years, before being reunited with her parents in Patna, Bihar, India where she lived through high school. She and the family moved back to Ludhiana where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the Government College of Ludhiana.
In 1959 when Gurmit was still in Patna, her uncle arranged a marriage between two long-connected families. On July 13, 1966 Gurmit married Manohar S Grewal, in Model Town, Ludhiana, after which she emigrated to the United States. She had moved around India a lot by that time, but nothing had prepared her for the culture and weather shock of moving to New England. She approached her life in the US the same way she did everything, with the strength of steel and an unrivaled determination. She established a life in Cambridge, MA and Hanover, MA bringing two daughters, Parminder and Tejinder into the world and working hard to raise them to be both kind and fiercely independent. She wanted her daughters to do everything she was not able to do in her life and they made her proud every day.
In Hanover, Gurmit was introduced to and developed a love of gardening through the Garden Club. She built longstanding friendships and brought beauty to her neighborhood and community through her gardening. She was also very involved in building the Sikh community in Massachusetts, serving as the first female president of the New England Sikh Study Circle, and advocating for and supporting Sikh women and children.
Gurmit and Manohar retired to Post Mills, VT in 1999 and started spending winters in Tucson, AZ in 2013, building strong communities in both places. She was a founding member of the Sikh Sabha of the Upper Valley and made significant contributions to the Sikh Community. Her homes were always open to family, friends and anyone who needed a soft place to land.
Gurmit always led with a welcoming smile and a twinkle in her eye, often using food as a way to show everyone her love. She was a wonderful cook and host. She derived so much joy from cooking with food that she had grown in her garden to feed her family, especially her much loved grandchildren. But more than the food, what Gurmit created was a place for people to connect, to talk about the deep and the mundane and to seek her advice, often delivered with a little bit of tough love.
The sweet, charming and petite exterior Gurmit had hid her indomitable spirit and strength. She fought her way through so many obstacles in life never letting anything keep her down. She beat the odds against chronic illnesses for decades, constantly surprising her doctors and caregivers. She served as a shining example to her family of what you can do if you are determined.
Gurmit leaves behind her husband of 59 years Manohar S Grewal, daughters Parminder Padgett (Jeff) of Burlington, VT, Tejinder Grewal of Tucson, AZ and Burlington, VT, grandchildren Charles Padgett and Simran Padgett (Tristan Smith), sister Surinder Dhillon (Nazar) and brother Pal Gill (Darshan).
Her funeral and religious service were held in Tucson on Thursday, April 9, 2026, a Celebration of Life will be held in Post Mills, VT this summer.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
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