Obituary of Mahendra Singh

Mahendra Singh passed away peacefully at home on Monday, October 31, at the age of eighty. He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Gwen Singh, daughters Wendy Robbins and Tina Flagg, sons-in-law Shaun Robbins and Michael Flagg, grand children Emily and Hunter Robbins, Amanda, and Rachel Flagg. He was born in Suva, Fiji, the oldest of thirteen. His first job was working for Sony Camera where he found his love of photography and sparked his dream of coming to America to film motion pictures. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, he found that the motion picture industry was transitioning to filming out of the country where production costs were less expensive. He found work in Sacramento with a small photo studio contracted to take school pictures all over California. He did not particularly like the work but loved the technical aspect of making the equipment work. It was there he met the love of his life, Gwen. Mahendra worked in the photography industry for over sixty years retiring from Technicolor in 2013. He loved gold panning, metal detecting, and traveling. He and Gwen made many trips to Australia, and Fiji. He was so proud of becoming a U.S. citizen, loved jury duty and never missed an opportunity to vote. He was so pleased to be able to own a gun as gun ownership was prohibited in the islands. He was continuously perfecting his Mai Tai recipe and would whip up his favorite beverage any chance he got. Wendy remembers growing up, daddy would announce that he needed his daily newspaper, and they would run off the Thrifty for ice cream just about the time mom called everyone for dinner. Tina remembers his stories of whale boats, meeting Ronald Reagan on set, helping the film crew when Queen Elizabeth II visited Fiji and all the seemingly unbelievable stories of a well-traveled man. He was very social, a kind and generous sole. Special thanks to Hospice of Amador and Calaveras for their care and kindness. Amador Senior Center Alzheimer's support group and grief counseling. A Celebration of life will be held later honoring the memory of our cherished husband, daddy, brother, uncle, and grandpa.