Reg Rempel

(from Saskatchewan Valley News Sept/30/2009)

Reginald Gerhard Rempel September 21, 2009. On Monday September 21, 2009 at 3:00 am, Reginald Gerhard Rempel passed away at the age of 71 after an unfortunate accident.

He is survived by his wife Myrna Rempel; children Ward (Christine) Rempel, Ray (Deanna) Rempel, Krista (Craig) Bailey; sister Joan (Earl) Zenert; mother-in-law Agnes Ewert; brothers and sisters-in-law Arlyn (Arline) Ewert, Lorna Sawatsky, Carol Small, June (Bill) Cairns, Ellen (Rob) Krahn, Randy (Sandy) Ewert; grandchildren Christopher (Crystal), Trevor, David, Ryan, Tyler, Sarah, Katie, Jacob, Parker; many cousins, nephews and nieces, a large extended family and friends.

He is predeceased by his parents Gerhard and Claira Rempel; sister Connie (Merle) Krehbiel; father-in-law Elmer Ewert; brothers-in-law Stan Small, Rod Sawatsky; and grandson Ryan Rempel. Reg was born June 6, 1938 just outside Laird at his grandfather’s homestead and lived in various prairie towns until his family settled in Drake, SK., when he was 12. It was there he met his future wife and convinced her to marry him. They spent 48 years together. They moved to Regina for work and then to Lumsden to raise their young family. After 29 years at the Saskatchewan Department of Highways, he and Myrna retired to Jan Lake in northern Saskatchewan. They lived there for 15 years and spent most of the winters as snowbirds visiting the southern states. Reg and Myrna built a new house in Laird in 2008 and sold their home at Jan Lake this summer as they moved onto the next phase of their lives.

Family was always important to Reg. In spite of the ribbing they might get, everyone was welcomed with open arms. His eyes lit up whenever his grandchildren were near. He will continue to watch over them. He also enjoyed his son and daughters-in-law, even though he tried not to show it. Their house at Jan was a relative haven for all who came. Reg loved fishing, but never fished as much as others because he was their guide and filleted their fish. He enjoyed water skiing and had the patience to teach many of us – he even skied last summer. After he retired, he started to work on genealogy and has more than 50,000 names on file. He spent many hours on the computer and reading while doing research on his Mennonite heritage and ancestors. The stories behind the names were far more interesting to him.

His other hobby was woodworking. From building much of the house at Jan to doing fi ner projects, he loved his time in the shop.

The Memorial Service was held Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Laird Mennonite Church with Pastor Bruce Jantzen officiating.

Interment of ashes took place in the Laird Cemetery. Arrangements were in care of Funk’s Funeral Home, Rosthern, SK.

I got to know Reg about 14 years ago through our common interest in genealogy and our common Rempel ancestry. He has been part of the MHSS events since about that time but because he spent parts of his winters in the south he missed many of our AGM's. He contributed a great deal of information to the GRANDMA genealogy program and assisted many researchers along the way. In 2002, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and spent the winter in Saskatchewan, so he assisted our family in putting together a Doell family history book, for which I am very grateful.

Tina and I had become very good friends (with them) in the last few years, I also stayed at their cabin at Jan Lake when I visited aboriginal communities in northeastern Saskatchewan.

Reg had been a mapmaker with the Province and lived at Lumsden for many years but worked out of Regina. He loved to fix, repair and create things, he was good with his hands and was very careful in handling tools. His death in this manner comes as a shock, something must have gone very wrong but I guess that's why they call them accidents.

Reg's funeral is planned for Saturday, September 26, at 2:00 pm in Laird Mennonite Church. Reg and Myrna built a new house in Laird this past year and made it their home and were really enjoying being there. This is a very big loss.

Leonard Doell