CORNELIUS REMPEL

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CORNELIUS REMPEL April 28, 1931 - March 27, 2015 Cornelius Rempel was born on April 28, 1931 to Cornelius and Maria (Wiebe) Rempel. Chortitz, Manitoba (Randolph after 1957), has been home for him his whole life. He was hospitalized from May 2014 until his passing. Cornelius' grandparents were Anton and Maria Wiebe and Johann S. and Margaretha Rempel. The Rempel family had immigrated to Canada from the Ukraine in the 1870s. The Wiebe family were 1920s immigrants. High German was the language of the Rempel family. Cornelius was the first grandchild in the Wiebe family. That status was significant because he knew the details of happenings and was on the inside track regarding his ever loyal cousins who wanted to know the hows, whys, and whens of issues and happenings during those growing up years. The second floor of the still-standing Rempel house was home for the first two years. Grandmother Rempel, Cornelius and Maria Rempel and little Corny lived there with six doting, adult, single aunts and uncles. In 1933, the current farm yard became home. Brothers Tony, Werner and John were born to the family and Elizabeth Wiebe, a red-haired, fun-loving cousin, grew up with the Rempel family. Mr. Jacob Wedel, Neil Unruh and Uncle Jacob Rempel were a few of Cornelius' teachers in the Randolph School. The road, by bicycle, to the Steinbach High School for Grade 11 offered considerable challenges in the 1940s. In 1950, the year of the big Manitoba flood, Cornelius graduated from the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg. At his mother's knee he learned about faith in Jesus as she sang and played the guitar. His father, with steadiness and reliability, worked together with Cornelius for many years on the family farm. The Christian life for Cornelius was integrated into the everyday rigors of dairy farming, field work and the ever-present church and community work. Cornelius was baptized upon the confession of his faith at 17 and joined the Steinbach Mennonite Brethren Church. With that he gave a lifetime of diligence in serving with singing in the church choir for more than 40 years, Sunday school teaching, youth work, leadership in church council, and as pastoral assistant for many years. He found community choir and quartet singing stimulating. From the years of his adolescence, he listened attentively to Back to the Bible radio teaching and the exposition of the Bible when ministers taught from the pulpit, learning about the Scripture as he listened. Often through the years he was grateful for the opportunity that our Mennonite Brethren Bible College had given him in the late 1950s. Cornelius married Martha Goertzen on July 5, 1962. Their first child Johanna was born on August 30, 1963. Father and daughter bonded early in her life. It was a special relationship. As his children, we learned early in our lives that expectations were high. The bar was set high first for himself and then for his children. Our family reminds each other of this with the memory of an incident: When one of us had 99% in a music theory exam, Dad's question was, "Why didn't you have 100?". We were free to choose our own life's work. He respected people who had high goals and worked hard to achieve them. The Steinbach Mennonite Brethren Church ordained Cornelius to the ministry on February 23, 1969. He loved the church. His sermons were prepared with diligence and the aim of making a point. When he had presented what he had prepared and effectively made his point, he ended his sermons. Typically Dad was not satisfied with the sermon he had preached, the Sunday school lesson he had taught, the field he had seeded, or the church business meeting he had lead. He was hard on himself. With the natural slowing down, the 1990s also brought with it the reverse of roles for Dad. The dairy farm was replaced with hog farming and Dad worked for his sons. His will to make the farm and those relationships work remained strong. Although he relinquished much of the church work gradually, he became a well-known minister who married many German-speaking couples. One month he married seven couples. He spoke their language, had a heart for young people to make a strong Christian start in married life, and couples could afford this minister who did not make a living as a preacher. In August of 2008, with the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease followed shortly thereafter by a hip replacement which was not that successful, life became quite trying. Rides to look at crop prospects from the road soon replaced the personal field work involvement, but not without a struggle. Arthur and Harold understood our strong dad as he became dependent on others. Respect for our dad had always been there so that love and care flowed freely even though needs increased and time for rides to Vita hospital, to appointments, and simply to visit and bring cheer were fit into daily plans. Dad's health declined rapidly this year after Christmas with the devastating diagnosis and prognosis of Johanna's incurable cancer. The scriptures say, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord". Romans 8:38, 39. We remember our loving husband, dad, grandfather, and brother as a man of genuine faith and integrity. Cornelius is survived by his wife Martha, daughter Johanna (who passed away April 1, 2015), sons: Arthur (Jennifer), Harold (Ashley), and Karl (Anna); and grandchildren: Marie, Frederic, Daniel, Isabel, Katherine, Ava and Matthew. Also mourning his passing are his three brothers: Tony (Elsie), Werner (Elda), and John (Esther); and Elizabeth Wiebe from Ottawa with their families. A come and go viewing will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2015 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, 162 Hwy. 52 W., Steinbach, MB. Memorial service will be held Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at Steinbach Mennonite Brethren Church, 340 2nd Street, Steinbach, MB. Burial will take place on Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 12:30 p.m. at Heritage Cemetery, Steinbach. If friends so desire donations may be made to Parkinson Society Manitoba, 7-414 Westmount Drive, Winnipeg, MB R2J 1P2; or The Gideon's International In Canada, Box 3619, Guelph, ON N1H 7A2. Arrangements by BIRCHWOOD FUNERAL CHAPEL 1-204-346-1030 OR 1-888-454-1030

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 01, 2015