Dilara Mabel King

Dilara was the oldest child of Rev Alfred Haidar Ali and Prem Kaur Dhan Singh. 

She was born in Delhi, India, in 1921. Five siblings followed over the next several years.

On her paternal side, her grandparents had converted from Islam to Christianity. On her maternal side, her grandparents had converted from Sikhism to Christianity. Her father was a Baptist minister and worked in Baraut, Palwal and Agra in UP, as well as Delhi, in India.

At the age of 8, Dilara went to Lal Bagh Methodist Girls’ School in Lucknow, as there were no girls’ schools in Baraut. She did her matriculation from Lal Bagh and then attended Isabella Thoburn College (also known as Chand Bagh) in Lucknow, India.

At the age of 21 she was wooed by and married a handsome young man, Emmanuel Joshua, who joined the British army. At 22 she was widowed when Lt Joshua died of typhoid. A few days after he died, their child – Jamil – was born. Jamil passed away in 2015, six weeks after he visited us in Canada.

Out of necessity, Dilara found employment as a teacher in Barnes High School, Devlali (near Nasik), India, and joined the faculty there in 1947.

Three years later, a young Anglo-Indian from Bangalore also joined the faculty at the school. Wilfred King was athletic and devastatingly handsome. They were paired as the lead characters in an operetta that the school produced. Like a storybook, they also fell in love and were married in 1952. Wilfred was a loving, devoted husband for the next 68 years.

Two children – Gillian and David - were born to them. In 1956 twin sons – Ralph and Alfred - were prematurely delivered and did not survive.

In 1965 Dilara and Wilfred, with their two young children moved to New Delhi. Dilara and Wilfred stayed there until Wilfred retired in 1992. During this time, Dilara taught at St Columba’s School from 1967 to 1979.

Dilara and Wilfred later moved to Canada in 2001 and celebrated their 65th anniversary in Canada.

In her 104+ years, Dilara has travelled from dusty towns in UP, India, to Europe, Australia and North America. She is survived by two of her children, seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

In accordance with her wishes, cremation will take place without a ceremony. If you wish to make a donation in her name, please do so to a charity of your choice.