Heinrich Johann Klassen

Henry Klassen was born near Rush Lake, Saskatchewan on December 27, 1911. He passed away peacefully on January 8, 2013 at the Brookside Lodge in Surrey. Here he was lovingly cared for and we are thankful to the staff.

Dad was the second oldest of a family of 11. His father passed away at the age of 46. Dad was one of the eldest so he had to work hard.

Mom and dad were married in 1934. They has very little in material things but had love for each other and dreams for a better future. They chose to start farming in the Rush Lake area and this is where they had their family. Helen, Mary and John were born at home and Larry and Wayne in the Herbert Hospital.

After farming in Rush Lake for many years dad became restless and decided that Saskatoon had greener pastures so they moved. It was here that illness struck the family. Wayne, at 2 years old was diagnosed with Polio and spent 7 weeks in the hospital. When he came home he wasn’t able to walk and needed a lot of care and attention. Wayne passed away at age 33 in a car accident. This was a very hard time for our family.

After living in Saskatoon for a few years and working in Mr. Janzen’s furniture store, they moved to BC. They packed the car and pulled a U-Haul trailer and travelled to the beautiful BC country where they purchased a farm on Bradner Road.

Dad did some mixed farming but also got a job in a lumberyard. When most of the children had left home mom and dad moved to Clearbrook where he worked as a MEI custodian for several years.

For many years dad and mom were members of East Aldergrove MB Church. Here they served on the food committee. Dad was chairman of that committee, his title was Spiesemester. His sense of humour was appreciated by those that worked with him. He had many one liners that he would quote. He made work fun!

Dad and mom also spent some time up at Columbia Bible Camp, now called Stillwood, where dad modernized the cabins and had a good time at it while mom worked in the kitchen.

They eventually retired to a condo in Clearbrook and joined the Clearbrook MB Church. Dad kept to himself busy by managing the condo and doing many fix-it projects in and around the building. He enjoyed this… he also read many books during these years… Jeanette Oke was his author of choice.

Mom passed away after 57 years of marriage. Two years later he married Tilly Epp and they enjoyed 17 years of marriage. Tilly passed away on June 20, 2012 and dad found this very difficult. His wish for the past many months has been to go to Heaven too and we as a family are rejoicing that his wish has been granted but we will miss him!

He was predeceased by his parents, his son Wayne, one grandson, and both son-in-laws, 4 brothers, 4 sisters, 6 step-brothers and sisters.

Left to mourn are his children, Helen, Mary, John (Joyce), Larry (Kathy) along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.