Obituary of Pete Harder

Pete Harder 1940-2020 passed away suddenly at his residence on Wednesday, Dec. 16.

He leaves to honor his memory his wife of 54 years, Mary, along with daughter Connie & Roger Friesen and their children Sharnell & Matthew Wiens, Morgan; Braenna & Carl Harder, Tatum & Lennox; Keeleigh & Dylan Chamberlin, Slade, Aeries, Maverick; daughter Carol & Alex Hiebert and their children Craig & Cassy Hiebert, Josh & Carissa Hiebert, Roman; Donovan Hiebert; son Curt & Sherisse Harder and their children Bailey Harder and Brittney Harder; foster son Raymond Erhardt.  He also leaves to mourn his sister Nora (John) Wiebe and in-laws Susie Harder, Esther Harder, John (Marge) Harder, Peter (Betty) Harder, Aggie (Ed) Esau, Willie (Marie) Harder, Cornie (Barb) Harder as well as many nieces, nephews and friends.

Pete was predeceased by one son in infancy, and two foster sons Frank Schroeder and Richard Campbell.

Dad was born on Oct. 18, 1940 to Frank and Cornelia Harder.  He had ten siblings, nine who predeceased him. 

Dad married Mary Harder on July 9, 1966.  They began their married life in Winnipeg, where Dad worked at Parkhill Bedding.  Later, his career led him to construction, both road and building.

In 1968, Mom and Dad moved to Mom’s family farm to help on the farm and in 1973 they purchased 160 acres from her mom and moved a house onto the property.  They lived there until 2008 and then moved to Grunthal where they currently reside.

Mom and Dad started fostering in 1981 and continued until May 2018.  Richard, Raymond and Frank were a very important part of our family. 

Dad will be remembered for his whistling, dry sense of humor, “people watching” – who’s that driving by?, going for his afternoon coffee with his coffee shop buddies, and his love for his family and the Lord.

Dad had arthritis, 2 heart attacks, congestive heart failure and in Sept. of 2018 he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.  Dad never let this drag him down, he always said someone was worse off than him.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation and thanks to Dr. Kim for his compassion and honesty, the paramedics and RCMP officer Rheo Gosselin for their quick response and gentle caring and compassion during a very difficult time. Thank you to Jarrod Chamberlin and Ernie Dyck and Birchwood Funeral Chapel for your compassionate direction as you guided us through funeral preparations.  And thank you to family and friends for your prayers and words of comfort and virtual hugs. 

The livestreamed private family funeral service will be held on Tuesday, December 22, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB., with the livestream viewing beginning at 9:30 a.m. Private family interment to follow at Grunthal Cemetery, Grunthal, MB.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:

Epic Smile

Box 280

St. Malo, MB

R0A 1T0

Cancer Care Manitoba Foundation

675 McDermot Ave #1160

Winnipeg, MB

R3E 0V9