On December 23rd, Jacob R. Esau passed away at Bethesda Hospital at the age of 92. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Annie, who passed away December 13th of this year. Left to cherish his memory are his three daughters, Esther (Donald) Doerksen, [Jerilyn (Ryan) Koslowsky, Gaylene (Shane) Magian, Renae (Allen) Sterk], Hilda (Vernon) Froese, [Ryan (Angela),Tyler (Alishia), Rochelle (Brian) Cowan, Trista (Paul) Wiebe], and Alice (Leonard) Froese, [Simone (Greg) Duerksen, Jacinta (Craig) Lang, Linsey Froese], 21 great-grandchildren, two half-sisters, one half-brother, and many relatives and friends. Dad was born in Halbstadt to Peter and Helena Esau. His mother passed away when he was two years of age, and he was raised by Ben and Maria Friesen. At the age of 19 he came to understand what it meant to be a Christian. He received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and was baptized upon the confession of his faith shortly thereafter. In 1944, Dad bought a small farm of 160 acres. Dad was a CO (Conscientious Objector) and had to work at Clear Lake after he bought the farm, so he rented the farm out to Nick Janz, a neighbor at the time. At the CO camp, he worked at a sawmill and drove gravel truck. Dad would make friends quite easily. He made some very good friends at a Bible Study he attended, and also made some good friends with the German prisoners of war. After the war he exchanged addresses with some of his German friends, but one man got caught with Dad’s address hidden in his cap. Dad was called in and reprimanded for having made this kind of contact with a POW. For Christmas, the next year, he sent his best pair of dress shoes to one of his German friends. It was a huge sacrifice for him, but he knew his friend was in greater need. In 1947, after the first date, which was a walk down the road, Jacob proposed to Annie Dueck. She accepted, and they got married on October 19th. They started their family four years later. Mom and Dad were dairy farmers all their working years. Dad gradually increased the size of his farm from seven dairy cows to twenty cows and his acreage from one hundred sixty to four hundred twenty acres. Dad was proud of his farm and tried to keep it as neat and well looked after as possible. Dad was very involved in church life, serving as deacon and church treasurer for many years. In 1982 our parents sold their farm to Vern and Hilda and moved into the town of Grunthal. During their retirement years they did some traveling, and continued serving by volunteering in the Thrift Store (Dad was the fix-it man), mowing the church lawn, and delivering Meals on Wheels until the age of 90. Dad spent a lot of time in his woodworking shop, designing and making unique gifts for his children and grandchildren. In 2008, Mom and Dad sold their house in town and moved into an apartment. They lived there for three years. This fall Mom was hospitalized, and, because we did not feel comfortable having Dad live alone, we helped him move to the Supportive Housing at Greendale Estate in Grunthal. He lived here for the last five weeks of his life. When Dad was feeling well, he enjoyed conversing with the residents and the Home Care Staff. Dad really appreciated the Home Care staff there. He mentioned several times that they treated him very well – they were so caring and helpful. We, as a family, want to thank the staff at Greendale Estates for the wonderful way they took care of our Dad. Dad, we will miss your kind and gentle spirit. We will miss how your eyes always lit up when you saw us. We will miss the unconditional love you had for your whole family. May you rest in peace. We love you, Dad. Viewing will be held at Birchwood Funeral Chapel in Steinbach on Thursday, December 29 at 7:00 p.m. with a devotional at 7:30 p.m. The funeral service will be held Friday, December 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Grunthal Bergthaler Church with interment at the Grunthal Cemetery.