Darshan Andre Sihota

Darshan Andre Sihota

Dec 5, 1956 - May 21, 2022

Darshan passed away peacefully at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on May 21, 2022 after a fierce battle with lymphoma. Although his body eventually failed him, his steely determination stayed with him until the very end. In his own words, he “still had more life left to live,” and we are all devastated that cancer took him too soon.

Darshan was born on December 5, 1956 to Joyce (Moll) and Dedar Sihota, the fourth child of an eventual seven children. He grew up in White Rock, BC, on 10 acres of land that the family ultimately turned into a golf course. At the age of 6, he had already learned to drive a tractor and this led to a lifelong love of tractors and equipment in general. He was an early adopter of technology, and was proud to tell anyone who would listen that he was the first person in his high school to own a calculator.

In 1979 Darshan graduated from UBC with a BSc in Forestry. Over his 40 year career in the forestry industry, he worked for Crown Zellerbach, Fletcher Challenge, TimberWest, Brookfield Asset Management, and finally became the President and CEO of Island Timberlands. In 2005 he also acquired an MBA from Royal Roads University. Being successful in his career was very important to him, and he worked extremely hard to achieve that success. He took pride in being a leader that listened to his team, and this approach made him well-respected and admired among his colleagues.  

At home on his 60 acre hobby farm outside Nanaimo, Darshan enjoyed working on his tractors and using his excavator. When the work was done, you could find him relaxing on the deck with a beer at the end of the day. He was a very proud grandpa, and could often be found giving his grandchildren rides on various farm vehicles.

Darshan will be missed by so many family members and close friends. He is predeceased by his mother, Joyce Sihota, but leaves behind his father, Dee, and all of his siblings, as well as his wife, Shalene, daughters, Danika (Jeff), Genevieve (Matt), sons Shamus (Michelle), Shaun (Melissa), as well as his beloved grandchildren, Jackson, Shaylah, Scott, Stella, Juliet, Eleanor, James, Frankie, Sophie, Mabel and an 11th grandchild due in July.

The family would like to extend their most heartfelt thanks to the nurses and doctors at Vancouver General Hospital and Nanaimo Palliative Care for their expert care of Darshan in his last days.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, June 10, 2022 from 2-4pm at the Coast Bastion Hotel, 11 Bastion St., Nanaimo. If you would like to attend the service virtually, please contact Genevieve Sihota Knapik at genevieve.knapik@gmail.com.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the BC Cancer Foundation.