Ranjit & Paul Rai

Sukhbir Rai was born on February 2, 1934 in Sargodha, Pakistan. At the age of thirteen he was forced to relocate to the India side of Punjab because of the turmoil caused during the Partition. Less than ten years later, in 1954, Rai picked up and moved again, this time to seek a better and more prosperous life in the United States.

He came by plane to San Francisco where he was greeted by an uncle who put him to work and found him a place to stay. Once in Yuba City, Rai found employment in local orchards, working ten to twelve hour days to save money so that he could one day also buy his own farm. In 1958, Rai returned to India to marry Gurmit Kaur Biring; they would eventually raise three children together in California.

Their eldest daughter is now a local schoolteacher, one son is a full time farmer and another is a network engineer and part time farmer. When Rai returned to America from India he saved enough money to buy his own farm. He ran his own operations for decades and also spent time contracting with other farmers. Rai is now retired and has passed on his farming business to his children. They currently farm over 350 acres of land as well as run a commercial harvesting business. Sukhbir Rai still lives in Yuba City with his family and has 4 grandsons and one granddaughter.