Sikhs remembered for piety, kindness

People gathered early that fateful Sunday at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin to meditate on God and to serve others—key requirements of their religion. Six of them were fatally shot August 5 as they performed customary acts of prayer and kindness.

A man of habit, Suveg Singh Khattra, 84, once a dairy farmer in the Punjab region of India, was on hand well before the 11 a.m. service that day. He was accustomed to getting up every morning at 4:30 to watch the news and a live broadcast from India of readings from his faith’s holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib.

Then he would catch a ride to the nearby temple in the Oak Creek suburb of Milwaukee, where he would pray and help prepare meals. “Whoever needs to eat can just walk in,” said Khattra’s granddaughter, Sandeep Kaur Khattra, 24. “Nobody ever suspects [strangers] because we have a lot of visitors who watch and observe, and they join us for our meals.”