It is with
profound sadness and a great sense of loss that
we announce the passing of Spoony Singh, founder
of the Hollywood Wax Museum, on October 18,
2006. He died peacefully with his family at his
side in his home in Malibu, CA.
Spoony was born
to the late Jagat Singh and Dhanti Kour on
October 20, 1922, in India. He immigrated to
Canada at the age of three and spent his youth
and early adulthood in Victoria, British
Columbia, where he was united in marriage to
Chanchil Kour.
Spoony has
created a legacy for his family through the
example he set in business and the value he
placed on developing deep and long lasting bonds
with his immediate and extended family.
As a
businessman, Spoony has had a very diversified
career. He has been an owner/operator of a wood
fuel business, run a logging camp that harvested
huge Douglas Fir and Hemlock trees, operated a
sawmill that exported lumber throughout the
world, created an amusement park that featured
go-carts and trampolines, opened attractions in
Los Angeles such as the Hollywood Wax Museum and
the Guinness World Records Museum, harvested
peaches, plums and walnuts on a farm in Yuba
City, mined for gold in Mexico, dallied in
record production, built spec homes, erected
Thousand Oaks Self Storage, opened a second wax
museum in Branson, Missouri and purchased and
developed other land in Mexico .
Spoony’s
business life has been characterized by courage,
resiliency, and the ability to make decisions
based on the core values of each of his
enterprises. Spoony never stopped asking
questions, never stopped learning and never
rested on his laurels. Taking risks and dealing
with challenges were both his vocation and his
avocation. For Spoony, this was the essence of
living life fully.
As a family man,
Spoony was very proud of his children. He
encouraged them to be independent and he
stressed to them the value of education. Spoony
was also proud of the affection that all members
of his extended family had for one another. As
the patriarch of the family, his home was the
hub of family gatherings and all were welcomed
and offered friendship, food and lodging. In
addition, Spoony created environments in Mexico
and June Lake where family members could rest,
relax, play and enjoy each others company in the
surf or the snow. Spoony was also there to
discreetly provide support and solace to family
members that were going through difficult
times. As a consequence of this leadership, he
leaves behind an extended family that loves one
another and savors the times that they share
together.
Spoony Singh is
survived by his wife of 63 years, Chanchil, six
children, Meva(Jocelyn), Janik(Raj), Indie(Loui),
Kabir, Jehlam(Kathleen), Raubi(Sue) and eleven
grandchildren, Amar, Tej, Sarina, Sanjai,
Kristina, Navi, Ryan, Kirin, Miles, Pria and
Shaila.
He also leaves
behind an extended family that shares a special
closeness…. a bond of love and friendship. This
includes the families of his three sisters,
Spoonkor, Bindo, and Bosso(Sucha), brother
in-law Berdie, and sister in-law Carmen.
Funeral Services
for Spoony Singh will be held at 10:30 am on
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at Forest Lawn –
Hollywood Hills located at 6300 Forest Lawn
Drive, LA, CA, 90068.
In lieu of flowers, the Sundher’s request that
friends honor Spoony Singh’s memory through
either of the following Associations:
American Heart
Association
7272 Greenville Ave.
Dallas, TX 75231-4596
Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles Stem Cell Project
Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles
4650 Sunset
Blvd., MS #62
Los Angeles, CA
90027
We wish to
express our sincere thanks to Dr. Gupta, Dr.
Harris, Dr. Schroff from India and the staff of
Roze Room Hospice for their caring and medical
support.
