Gerhard Rempel

Gerhard J. Rempel

1915 - 2000

Share Your Memory of
Gerhard

Obituary of Gerhard J. Rempel

On Wednesday, November 1, 2000, George Rempel passed away peacefully at his residence in Steinbach, MB. at the age of 85 years. George was born on April 4, 1915 on the Blumental estate, Colony Schoenfeld in southern Russia .Whatever happiness and contentment he may have experienced at Blumental was short-lived. In 1919 the family had to flee the violence brought on by the Bolshevik revolution. The family spent four years as refugees before emigrating to Canada in 1923. Dad’s memories of this time as a refugee had a lasting influence on his priorities. In Canada, after living briefly near Kitchener and then in the Westbourne area, Dad’s family settled on a farm near Grunthal. This became the community where Dad grew up, where he was baptized, where he met, courted and married our mother, Katherine Enns in 1940, and where all five of us children were born. 1n 1957 Mom and Dad decided to relocate. They sold their farm at Grunthal and bought a farm north of Randolph. Living there, they became members of the Steinbach Mennonite Church, a church they have strongly supported ever since. In 1981 they left their home on the farm and moved to a house on Southwood Drive in Steinbach. Dad, however, remained active on the farm. Mom and Dad also did a lot of traveling, and Dad was able to catch up on some of the reading he had been unable to do while busy farming. In 1995 Mom and Dad moved to an apartment in Fernwood Place. The timing of this move was providential because within 1 ½ years Dad experienced a series of strokes. These seriously affected his coordination and left him with a limited ability to speak. He was unable to read or do things such as watch TV. The stroke, however, did not take from Dad his enjoyment of being together with others, nor his optimistic outlook. He continued to greet everyone with a bright eye, warm hand shake, and often a hug. Even though he could no longer contribute to the conversation, he continued to look forward to visitors, and listened intently to conversation. Spending time with the morning coffee group, usually in the company of Mr. Hans Wiens, was the highlight of the day for him. Sunday, October 29th he attended the worship service with our mother, but that night he began bleeding internally. Wednesday morning, around 8:30, he quietly breathed his last. As he used to say, he “passed on”. He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his beloved wife Katherine, three daughters and two sons: Eleanore (John) Woollard of Edmonton, AB., Eric (Mary) Rempel of Steinbach, Irma (Siegfried) Peters of Randolph, Ron (Margaret) Rempel of Ste. Anne, Judith (David) Rempel Smucker of Akron PA, US , ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; two sisters Annie (Dave) Redekop of Virgil, ON , Helen Kirkpatrick of St. Catherines, ON, two brothers; Jake Rempel of Virgil, ON and Albert (Ethelwyn) Rempel of Cobourg, ON, their families and many dear friends. He was predeceased by his sister Hilda. Thank you Dad, for holding our hands, for encouraging us, for guiding us as we were growing up and later, too. In a small way the roles were reversed in the last four years. The funeral service was held on Saturday, November 4th at 3:00 p.m. at the Steinbach Mennonite Church with interment in the Heritage Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to MCC Memorial Plan, 134 Plaza Dr. Winnipeg, MB. R3T 5K9. We will miss you, Dad. Rest in peace.