HANS-PETER HOMBACH

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HANS-PETER HOMBACH On December 31, 2016, Hans-Peter Hombach passed away peacefully at the age of 73 years. Left to remember him are his wife Valentina, his son Sven (Lizanne), grandchildren Felix and Julian, stepdaughter Irena (Victor), and step-grandchildren Anna (Justin) and Alexander. Peter was predeceased by his first wife Ursula in 1982, and by his parents Julius and Maria. Born in Essen, Germany, in 1943 in the middle of the war to working-class parents, Peter's future was pre-determined: trade school followed by a job in the factory. Except neither Peter nor his parents would have any of that. Julius and Maria scrimped and saved to send him to university and Peter started on his path to being a life-long learner that always pushed his own limits. He became one of only three working-class children in his year to attend the University of Münster, and graduated with a Ph.D. in chemistry. In Münster he met the love of his life, Ursula, whom he married shortly after graduation. Adventures outside Germany soon beckoned Peter and in 1973 he joined the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee as a research scientist, followed by several other interesting positions in Germany, Illinois and, eventually, North Dakota. After losing Ursula to cancer in 1982, he had to combine a research and business career with being a single parent. He rose to that challenge, too. In 1998, Peter married Valentina, gaining a wonderful new family in the process and immigrating to Winnipeg, Canada, a place he came to love for the rest of his life. Always a problem-fixer and seeing the state of water treatment in this province, he founded Osorno Enterprises, a company providing drinking water and waste water treatment in remote areas. Peter never entertained the thought of retirement - he loved what he did and was known to write microcontroller programs even from a hospital bed. The family would like to thank the staff of CancerCare Manitoba and the Palliative Care Unit at St. Boniface Hospital for making Peter's life comfortable in the last months. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Peter's memory to the Canadian Cancer Society. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, January 5, 2017 at 10:00 a.m., Korban Funeral Chapel, 907 Main Street. KORBAN FUNERAL CHAPEL 204-956-2193 www.korbanchapel.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 03, 2017