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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWhen Mohinder Sehmbey retired in 1994, after teaching high school math and physics in Chester for 28 years, he almost certainly didn\u2019t expect that career to be followed by another 31 years as a supply teacher.
\u201cBut he really wasn\u2019t ready to stop teaching,\u201d says his daughter, Camille Sehmbey. She adds that her dad \u201cis too modest to be interviewed\u201d about his contributions: \u201cHe was always motivated by his love for his
subject and his students.\u201d
Mohinder and his wife, Harjinder, came to Canada from India in 1966. Wanting to give their children the opportunity of a better life and more education, Mohinder had responded to an advertisement inviting qualified teachers in India to move to Canada. The Sehmbeys chose Chester, becoming the first Indian and first Sikh family in the community. By the time Mohinder retired the second time, a year ago this month, aged 90, he was teaching the grandchildren of his first students.
\u201cI don\u2019t think we have another example of an educator who put as much time and love into teaching,\u201d says Andr\u00e9 Veinotte, a Municipality of Chester councillor and one of Mohinder Sehmbey\u2019s former students. Veinotte says it was \u201csuch a pleasure\u201d to honour his former teacher and neighbour last
year by presenting him with a special service award from the municipality.
\u201cBecause he knew and loved his subject so much\u2014and because he is such a patient person\u2014even
students who weren\u2019t confident in math and physics gained confidence, thanks to him,\u201d says
Veinotte.
He adds, \u201cI\u2019m grateful that he taught me, which helped me toward an engineering career.\u201d
Erin Gore, a retired teacher who taught with Sehmbey for many years, says, \u201cHe cared.
As much as he cared about his subjects, he cared even more about his students\u2019 well-being.
And they knew it.\u201d Gore says he also cared about girls gaining confidence in math
and science and he didn\u2019t show any favouritism toward boys as learners: \u201cThat wasn\u2019t common
back in the sixties and seventies, especially for a teacher who came originally from a patriarchal
culture.\u201d
Mohinder and Harjinder Sehmbey now live in Ottawa and appreciate being with daughter
Camille and her family. Veinotte and Gore agree that Sehmbey’s nearly six decades of teaching excellence and the way he cared about his students, colleagues, and neighbours have been tremendous gifts to the community.
Says Gore: \u201cI think Mohinder Sehmbey is the most universally respected person in Chester.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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