His family announces the death of Henry R. Wiebe in Steinbach on April 14, 2007. He was most recently a resident of Rest Haven and prior to that of Southwood Drive. He leaves his wife of 53 years, Anna (nee Toews). He also leaves his three sons and their partners, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild: Edwin and his wife Christa, with their children Miriam (and her husband Hans-Joachim Wuethrich and their son Joah), Sarah and Andrin, all of Switzerland; Harry and his partner William Burnfield and their children Evan, Piers, Jotham, Anna and Wells, all of Toronto; and David and his former wife Rhoda Pullan and their children Silas and Macy, all of Vancouver Island. Henry was the youngest of his family and was predeceased by all of his siblings and their spouses including Cornelius and Maria Wiebe, Margaret and Jacob Thiessen, Anna and Johan B. Funk, Lena Wiebe and the infant David Wiebe. Henry was born on June 3, 1921 in the Bergfeld / Pansy, Manitoba area, son of Anna (nee Rempel) and Cornelius T. Wiebe. As a five-year-old boy he moved to Paraguay with his family as part of the larger migration of Mennonites to the Chaco. He grew up in the village of Ebenfeld and completed his education there. Unlike most of his peers, he sought a career outside of farming and took a job with the Menno Colony Cooperative (commercial division). In his more than ten years with the Cooperative, he worked first in Loma Plata and then Campo Leon. The possibility of interaction with people from outside the Colony was very stimulating to Henry. To help with his work he avidly studied and embraced the Spanish language. During his extended and unusual bachelorhood, Henry developed a love of reading, which remained his favoured past-time throughout his life. In his early thirties Henry met Anna in Loma Plata and they were married in Waldheim, Menno Colony on November 29, 1953. In 1956 Henry moved his family to Canada, settling in Steinbach. This move to Canada in 1956, with an infant son, included Anna’s sister Neta and mother. In Canada, a change of career was required and Henry soon found work as a trainee plumber with Froese Contractors and subsequently as a plumber for more than 25 years, up to his retirement, with Barkman Plumbing and Heating. As he neared retirement Henry began to indulge his pleasure in travel, and with Anna, traveled three times to Europe, to Paraguay, and many times to visit his children in Toronto and Vancouver Island. Also during these years, he took an increasing and informed interest in politics, whole-heartedly supporting issues of social justice. Henry was a believer in religious tolerance and was willing to accept alternative viewpoints. When it was radical and largely unacceptable to do so, he took a strong stance on the acceptance of gay people in the Mennonite Church and lobbied this position with church leaders and friends. It was a campaign that energized him. From his arrival in Canada until now, Henry was a member of the Steinbach Mennonite Church, enjoying serving in several volunteer capacities. A funeral service will be held at Birchwood Funeral Chapel on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. with interment at Heritage Cemetery.