Punjabi market and Indo-Canadian notary pioneer Pritpal Narwal passed away last week. Pritpal spent much of his young life tilling fields, wrestling and playing kabaddi. Pritpal’s talent in kabaddi earned him a scholarship to Punjab University, where he graduated with a B.A. degree. He then went on to earn a law degree at Kurukshetra University.

SOUTH VANCOUVER – Punjabi market and Indo-Canadian notary pioneer Pritpal Narwal passed away last week.

Born in the village of Daria, in the district of Hoshiarpur, Punjab, Pritpal was the eldest son of Subedar Jarnail S. Narwal, a veteran of the Second World War and Mohinder Kaur Narwal.

Pritpal spent much of his young life tilling fields, wrestling and playing kabaddi. Pritpal’s talent in kabaddi earned him a scholarship to Punjab University, where he graduated with a B.A. degree. He then went on to earn a law degree at Kurukshetra University.

Reproduced below with permission is an excerpt from an article published in the Fall 2008 edition of The Scrivener, which celebrated Pritpal’s first 25 years as a Notary:

“The day after he was admitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Council in 1973, Pritpal set up shop as a sole practitioner, which meant a single chair and table outside the Hoshiarpur courthouse. After gaining a modicum of notoriety for defending a alleged serial bicycle thief, Pritpal was appointed Oath Commissioner by the Honourable Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.

“It was only natural that after having experienced the rigours of a busy law practice and developing a penchant for signing documents as Oath Commissioner, Pritpal aspired to be a Notary when he came to Canada in 1976. He hung his shingle in the Punjabi Market on Main Street in Vancouver in 1983. He practiced there for 15 years before moving his office to 50th and Fraser.

“The year 1976 marked another milestone in his life: He married his wife Jasbier, a UBC graduate with a degree in English Literature. The newlyweds promised not only to love and live but also to work together.

“The two practiced out of the same office—Pritpal as a Notary and Jasbier as an insurance agent. The birth of their only son Joven prompted a redesign of the busy office to make room for a nursery so they could keep Joven close.

“During his time in Canada and in addition to his role as a Notary, Pritpal has been an active businessman, having owned and operated a travel agency, a grocery store, a clothing store, three insurance agencies, a trucking company, and two Indian restaurants. He has also practiced as a real estate agent, a mortgage broker, and served as President of Vancouver Taxi Ltd.

“Of all the businesses he has run, Pritpal’s pride and joy is 10-acre blueberry farm in Richmond where he has lived with his family—and pretended his thumbs are green—for the last 21 years.

“Pritpal has remained active in the Indo-Canadian community, serving as General Secretary for the Khalsa Diwan Society at the Ross Street Gurdwara and Director of the Punjabi Market Association.

“He also maintains a strong connection to his Mother India where he observed that young women in the area of his ancestral village were not going on to higher education because their families would not send their daughters away to school. Pritpal’s donations spearheaded a movement to take the school to them and eventually he established the Khalsa College for Women in Khandala Jattan. He continues to contribute to the school and remains the largest donor.

“In the Fall of 2004, Jasbier, Pritpal’s wife of 28 years and who worked alongside him all his professional career, died after a long and heroic battle against cancer. Ironically, she died during an especially happy time for the family—it was their only son Joven’s first year of law school at UBC. Father and son fought back the tears and did the very best they could. Pritpal maintained his practice, his businesses, and his community involvement.”

Pritpal is survived by his son Joven, his daughter-in-law Cheryl and his six-year old grandson Logan. He was proud of his son and daughter-in-law’s accomplishments in the legal profession.

In his Last will and testament, Pritpal asked for his funeral to be simple and wanted his son to share the following message when he passed away: “Please give my thanks to all my clients and friends and family members for support and time I spend with them.”

A memorial service will be held on January 28, 2023, at 12:00 PM at Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara, 8000 Ross Street, Vancouver

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