A "popular and caring" former shopkeeper has died aged 59 following a heart attack after months of ill health. Jagir Singh Pannu, known locally near his home in Newport as Jay, died on July 30 after two weeks being treated at the University Hospital of Wales following a serious cardiac arrest on July 15.
Jagir's eldest child Bobby, 39, said his father was "caring, popular, helpful" and "the best man I have ever known". The father of four and grandfather of eight lived with his family in a six-bedroom house in Newport and was described as an "active and loving father and grandfather".
"When he came here from India in 1979 he came with absolutely nothing," Bobby said. "He stacked shelves at a fruit and veg store and worked his way up. In 2003 he took on a convenience store on Commercial Road in Pill, which he really loved. He got to know all the locals.
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"He went on to open a few stores – one was on Chepstow Road and then Bassaleg, Stow Hill, and Tredegar. Then we opened an alcohol wholesale business together serving cash and carries all over south Wales so he became really well-known in the trade.
"He was working right up until the end of his life as a property landlord which we also did together. We lived together, worked together, and ran our business together.
"He never looked his age and I have always looked a bit older so people who didn't know us often told us they thought we were brothers. Some people don't have a bond with their fathers and certainly not the bond I had with mine. It means I'm hurting a lot now but I feel so lucky for what we had.
"It's just so sad he's been taken from us so soon – 59 is no age. It's come as a shock. His own mother is still alive and she's just turned 101 so it's absolutely devastating for her."
Following months of ill health and routine trips to the hospital to have stents fitted Jagir's family were so concerned that they took him back to India in March and April for a second opinion on how best to prolong his life. But his condition continued to worsen.
Crowds gathered at Jagir's funeral at Antim Darshan Temple in Cardiff on Tuesday to pay their respects. "It was a really lovely send-off for him and there were a lot of people there," Bobby said. "We've had a lot of people ringing and leaving text messages to send their best wishes and share their memories of him.
"I think that shows what kind of person he was. I never, ever saw him angry with anyone. I've never known anyone like him and I'm not just saying that because he's my dad and he's died – he was the best man I've ever known."
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