Sabrina A. Kalsi

Sabrina Ann Kalsi, née Herrmann, passed away on March 13, 2026, in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, at the age of 68. A New Year’s baby born on January 1, 1958, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she grew up in Allen Park and graduated from Melvindale High School in 1976. Sabrina earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry from Eastern Michigan University, supporting herself through factory work and other demanding jobs at a time when women were often told they did not belong. She went on to build a distinguished career as a chemist at Dow Chemical and Sherwin-Williams before moving into product development. She developed laboratory equipment at Sigma-Aldrich, Cole-Parmer, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, where she served as Global Director of the Water Analysis Instruments Unit, traveling extensively across Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, and beyond. She concluded her professional life at Klein Tools, retiring in 2023.

Sabrina met the love of her life, Tajinder Singh Kalsi, while working as a receptionist at an international student dormitory at Eastern Michigan University. They married on Valentine’s Day in 1980 in Ann Arbor and shared 42 years of marriage until Taj’s passing in 2022. Together they moved across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Illinois, raising their family while building a wide circle of lifelong friends. They shared a deep love of music and poetry, traveled widely, and were known for their warm hospitality. Sabrina’s annual holiday gatherings became treasured traditions, marked by her meticulous attention to detail and generous spirit.

Equally gifted in the sciences and the arts, Sabrina brought precision and creativity to everything she did. Her scientific mind was matched by a remarkable artistic talent; her sketches, paintings, and large-scale whimsical murals brightened the homes of many family members and friends. She created one-of-a-kind decorations and personalized touches for life’s milestones, and she was a gifted baker whose koulourakia and decorated sugar cookies were eagerly anticipated each holiday season. Above all, Sabrina was devoted to her family and friends. She was the first to offer help with any task, from planning events to preserving old photographs, and she shared especially close bonds with her father and stepmother, her brother’s daughters, and her own daughter and granddaughter, whom she cared for weekly and who became the light of her final year.

She is survived by her daughter, Angela (Kevin Reader) Kalsi; her father, Allen Edward Herrmann; her granddaughter, Jane Singh Reader; her brother, Christopher (Chelsey) Herrmann; her nieces, Joanna and Lena; her brothers, Terry Southall and Boyd Herrmann; and many dear friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Tajinder Kalsi; her mother, Corine Southall, née Fritz; and her beloved stepmother, Anna Herrmann, née Lardas.