Vinay Kumar Dey

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Vinay Kumar Dey

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Vinay Kumar Dey (March 7th, 1941-March 28, 2022). He was son of the late Surendra Nath Dey and Nirupama Dey (Bose), and husband to the late Nirmal Dey (Sharma). He is survived by his daughter, Sujata (Jeff) and son, Anil and by his brother, Santosh and sister, Bhakti Dutta. Mr. Dey passed away in Montréal after fighting COVID and a secondary infection surrounded by loved ones.

Mr. Dey was a compassionate father, brother, family man, and community leader. Born in Orai, India, the youngest of ten children, he was a proud Lucknow Bengali. He immigrated to Canada in 1970, where he married his beloved, Nirmal. He lived in New Delhi, Golden, Revelstoke, Nelson, Montréal and Calgary. Mr. Dey spent his career at Canadian Pacific Railway, first in the yards and then in the account’s office, and finally as EAP counsellor. Active in the union movement, he was eventually elected to the national union executive of the Transportation Communications Union (now amalgamated with the Steelworkers).

Not content to be an accountant or retiree, Mr. Dey was a social justice activist and community builder. Named as one of 2003 Maclean’s Magazine’s “10 Canadians who make a difference”, he ran numerous times for the NDP. He selflessly assisted other people, and he felt most at home helping others. He was chiefly involved with the Calgary Council of Indo Canadian Associations and the Southern Alberta Heritage Language Association, the Bangladesh Lions Club, International Avenue Arts and Culture Community, Amra Sabai, Results Canada, and many more organizations. He was a passionate advocate of many causes, including anti-racism, multilingual education and combatting poverty. He often volunteered as well as worked with charities and non-profits into his final year. Passionate about cultures and respectful of different faiths, he was an avid traveller, and in his final years, hung out with his children in Japan, South Korea, and Cuba. Determined to keep his large extended family united, he dreamed of having a large family reunion in India, a dream which didn’t materialize.