Obituary of Saktisinha Jana

JANA, Sakti
1934 - 2019

Sakti passed away peacefully on August 13, 2019 in Saskatoon, SK at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife Bharati, sons Kunal (Jennifer) and Arup (Margaret), niece/daughter Sumana (Andrew) and 3 beautiful granddaughters;  Saheli, Annika and Ellison.
Sakti was born and raised in West Bengal, India. He completed his studies in agriculture at Calcutta University and the University of New Delhi.  He received his Ph.D. in population genetics at the University of California (Davis). He was awarded the Humboldt Scholarship for a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Tubingen, Germany.
He emigrated to Saskatoon with Bharati in 1969 for a career at the University of Saskatchewan. He was a professor in the College of Agriculture Dept. of Crop Science until his retirement in 2002. Before and after retirement he was involved with various international research projects in crop science. In the latter part of his career his scientific work was focused on biodiversity and conservation.
In addition to his scientific interests, Sakti had a passion for literature. He learned 5 languages and was well read in classical Sanskrit. He loved to read about religion, politics and philosophy. He travelled the globe but also enjoyed canoeing and fishing in Saskatchewan. His favorite pastime was swimming and he continued this until the end. Eating and drinking were his biggest passions and his happiest moments were enjoying food and drinks at home with family and friends.
We will be celebrating his life in the University Club at the University of Saskatchewan on Friday, August 30, 2019 from 2:00 - 3:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Saskatchewan Environmental Society http://environmentalsociety.ca/get-involved/donate/