Irvin George Rempel

Our dad, Irvin Rempel, was born near Mennon, Saskatchewan on February 4, 1924 to Peter and Emma Rempel. Shortly after his birth the young family moved to a homestead near Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. They grew to a family of eight with Irvin, Selma, Wesley (who lived only 2 days), Irene, Alvin and Robert. Farm life was hard but he worked alongside his dad to provide for them all.

A church was eventually established in their farming community where the family began to attend. Here they heard the gospel and came to trust in the Lord as their Saviour. This was the beginning of Dad’s spiritual journey.

After a few years of working in BC’s logging industry, Dad married his sweetheart, Florence Gregory in 1951. Soon after their marriage, Dad was able to find work with the Town of Meadow Lake in the public works department. Life was a challenge as both Florence’s parents died in the early years of Mom and Dad’s marriage. This is how Mom’s sister, Eva, became a part of our family. Don, Linda, Rod and Eva, our older sister, completed the family. Eva was with us until she married Cornie her love and had a family of her own. During this time as a young dad, he was very involved in the church. He made sure his family attended every service the church held. It was important to him that his children had every opportunity to hear the gospel and develop a faith walk in their own lives. Ensuring that his family was cared for in every way was a priority of Dad’s. An example is the new home he built for us in Meadow Lake.

Setting his sights on new goals, Dad decided to follow his parents and his youngest brother and moved to British Columbia. They settled in Abbotsford in 1967. Here he began to build a new home for his family. It was during this project that Dad was offered a job at Dueck Lumber, which eventually became Lumberland. Dad accepted the job offer which meant evenings were now spent completing the building of his new home. A few years later, he decided to build another home. Somehow he managed to do this while working full time. In Abbotsford, Dad took his family to the Abbotsford Alliance Church (now known as Sevenoaks Alliance). Dad continued to faithfully take his family to church. Mom and Dad enjoyed singing in the choir, the church socials, and eventually the senior activities in their later years.

At age 65 Dad was ready to retire. This brought freedom to travel and spend precious time with family and friends. Mom and Dad loved to walk together. One day after Dad went for a walk by himself Mom heard an ambulance siren. Unknown to her, dad had been hit by a car while on a crosswalk. A surgery on his fractured leg and a hospital stay followed. His determination ensured that he would eventually return to walking without any trace of a limp and get back to their retirement plans! Together they enjoyed camping in their motor home, trips to the United States, and visiting friends and family.

In later years they decided to stay closer to home and make life a little easier by moving into an apartment in Menno Terrace East. Here they quickly settled in and began to enjoy the life that Menno Place had to offer. As Mom began to need more help, Dad lovingly cared for her. After Mom passed, Dad had more time to spend outside walking, riding his scooter and developing an interest in art. He found a passion for coloring, painting and pottery. Dad also loved spending time socializing with his friends at Menno Place. He was known to attend most of the activities offered.

Dad continued to be active until he no longer could. On September 27th, Dad went into the hospital and though he fought hard, he was transferred to Holmberg House (hospice) on October 27th. He went to be with the Lord, November 2, 2022 surrounded by his family.

As a father, Dad taught us the value of honesty, integrity and hard work. He was always a true role model for these qualities. To quote Galatians 5:22 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” This was our Dad.