Amarjit Singh Marwah

February 4, 1926 - January 7, 2025 This month marks nearly one year since Dr. Amarjit Singh Marwah passed away and we recognized his death. On January 30, 2025, over a thousand men and women from all walks of life filled the Sky Rose Chapel in Whittier, California to attend his funeral.
Dr. Marwah came from a family of physicians, grew up in Kotkapura in Punjab and went to dental college in Lahore, graduating in 1947. In 1953, he earned a Fulbright Scholarship to do postgraduate work at the Guggenheim Dental Foundation in New York. One year later, in 1954, Marwah earned a scholarship to complete his Master of Science in Dentistry at the University of Illinois Dental College in Chicago. In 1956, he completed his Doctorate of Dental Surgery at Howard University in Washington D.C.
He first lived in Baldwin Hills and later settled in Malibu. As a dentist, he counted celebrities as his clients - like Elizabeth Taylor, Gregory Peck, and Sidney Poitier - while also serving low-income clients at USC's Dental Clinic. Dr. Marwah's public service was equally expansive. He supported Dalip Singh Saund's successful campaigns for the United States House of Representatives (1957 - 1963) and established the Sister City Program between Los Angeles and then Bombay (now Mumbai). Dr. Marwah was a member of Mayor Tom Bradley's Rainbow Coalition and served as President of the Cultural Heritage Commission. In 1969, Dr. Marwah and his wife, Kuljit Kaur, donated a building on Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles to the Vermont Gudwara, also known as the Hollywood Sikh Temple, where his family will hold a special Kirtan and Langar for him this Sunday.
The Marwahs founded the KK Marwah Girls College in Faridkot and funded the construction of an auditorium at Mahindra College in Patiala, both in Punjab, India. Dr. Marwah made a lasting impact by improving infrastructure in rural villages. He adopted two villages, Guru Ki Dhab and Guru Nanak Basti, where he facilitated the construction of modern amenities such as clean water systems, sewage networks, and paved roads. His humanitarian work earned him statues in his honor in both villages.
In 2018, the City of Los Angeles, with Councilman David Ryu, recognized him by designating the street corner at Finley and Vermont Avenues, where the Hollywood Sikh Temple stands, as 'Dr. Amarjit Singh Marwah Square.'
Few individuals have made such a positive imprint on so many lives, both here and abroad, as Dr. Marwah. He leaves behind a vast community of friends and colleagues; three daughters; several grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.