Murli Pendharkar, 2930-2021.
Image Credit: Submitte/Springfield Funeral Service
July 15, 2021 - 7:00 PM
Murli Pendharkar served as both a superintendent of schools and chair of the Board of Education in the Central Okanagan and was a prominent volunteer before dying earlier this week at the age of 91.
Born in a rural village in India, the third youngest of 11 children, on Feb. 17, 1930, he embraced education early in his life.
“His mother taught them all to sing their addition and multiplication tables before they were old enough to go to school, preparing him early for his chosen career as a math teacher,” states a posting by Springfield Funeral Service.
He married his wife of 68 years, Sudha, in 1953, before becoming a math teacher, first in Tanganyika in East Africa and later in Saskatchewan.
In 1972 he moved with his family to B.C. and was hired as superintendent of the Central Okanagan School District in 1978 until he retired in 1986.
During his time in Kelowna, he ran twice for the Liberal party federally unsuccessfully but did get elected to the district’s Board of Education and served as chair for a time.
He played a major role with the Rotary Club of Kelowna along with other charities.
Among many Rotary projects he was involved with, the biggest was the development of a dam to provide water to the farming community of Amreli, India starting in 1998.
He helped coordinate the project that saw eight Okanagan Rotary clubs raise $800,000 for the project. It also received funding from senior Rotary arms.
Pendharkar was slowed by a stroke in 2019 and died in Hospice House on July 12.
He is survived by his wife, two children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A Come and Go memorial open house will be held at the Pendharkar home on July 18 from 1-6 p.m. People were asked to reply to madhuri1555@gmail.com by noon today, July 15.
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