Henry D. Friesen

Obituary

Henry D. Friesen of Steinbach passed away peacefully surrounded by family on May 19, 2021 at his home.

He is predeceased by both of his parents, two brothers, and two sisters.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Tina, their four daughters: Lorraine (Terry) Dorsey and children Craig (Carolyn), Kristin, Aurora, and Joel (Ashley), Jan (Don) Neufeld and children Miles (Maria), Nicole (Warren) and Victoria (Brian), Dolores (Jeff) Guenther and children Ashley (Jay), Joshua (Codi) and Jonathan, Cathy (Tim) Friesen and children Kaitlyn (Brendan), Jessica (Bruce) and Madi (Ryley), and their son Corey (Celine) Friesen and children Alex and Easton. He is also survived by two sisters and one brother. Grandpa Friesen will be lovingly remembered by his thirteen great-grandchildren as well.

Dad was born on October 27, 1936 in Stanley, Manitoba, the youngest of eight children. As a young teenager, Dad hoed beets in the summer, which is where he met the most beautiful, brown-eyed, red haired girl he had ever set his eyes on! Dad proposed to that beautiful girl he met in the beet fields in December 1957, and they were married the following year on June 1st . Prior to their marriage, Mom and Dad took an important step in their faith and were baptized together at Winkler Sommerfeld Church in May 1958. Shortly after Mom and Dad were married, they were blessed with their first daughter, Lorraine, in March 1959 and a second, Janice, in November 1961. Dad has always been ambitious and a hard worker and held numerous jobs before settling on being a farmer and buying his first farm in Plumas in 1964. Our young family then began a new adventure as farmers. As busy as farming life can be, Dad made sure we attended church and Sunday School every Sunday morning as a family, and we never worked on the Sabbath, other than attending to the farm animals. Sundays were spent visiting friends and family, riding the family horses, faspa, and maybe a meddachschlop. Working hard and loving Jesus were values instilled in us from the beginning. While farming in Plumas, Dad also obtained his auctioneer license and drove a school bus. Mom and Dad were blessed with three more children during this time: daughter Dolores in March 1965, daughter Cathy in May 1969, and a son, Corey, in August 1970. Farming life can be grueling work and we have many memories of Dad coming in from a day’s work with a dirt covered face from working in the fields.

Farming was a family affair, and we learned the value of hard work, working together, and relying on the Lord’s provision.

Dad continued to farm, both in Gladstone (1974-1979) as a grain and cattle farmer, and Grunthal (1979-1989) as a hog and chicken farmer. Being the ambitious man he was, he also started a successful real estate company, Farmer’s Realty, while farming in Grunthal. This led him to become a highly successful and respected real estate agent with Century 21 in Steinbach, winning the International Centurion Award twice. He retired from real estate in 2006.

Dad had many passions and loved new toys, gadgets and technology. Dad’s life’s passion was flying, and he earned his pilot license in 1977. He loved to take family and friends for plane rides and many people have fond memories of flying with Dad. He also had a passion for motorcycles – Harley Davidson specifically – hunting, fishing, and attending any sporting event his children or grandchildren were involved in. He told excellent dad jokes, loved Tim Hortons’ coffee, and was a diehard Blue Jays fan, something he passed on to his son and several grandchildren. Dad loved to sing bass in quartets and choirs and would serenade Mom on a regular basis with his smooth, deep voice. In their later years, Mom and Dad took up ballroom dancing and they spent many an evening dancing the night away in each other’s arms, with Dad singing softly in Mom’s ear. We were often entertained by impromptu dance performances at family gatherings!

Dad’s life was centered around his faith in Jesus, and he lived out his life radiating the love of Christ to everyone he met. Dad served in numerous positions in every church they have attended. He was able to go on a mission trip to Belgium, to spread the Good News, and was also a huge contributor to expanding two of the churches they attended in Gladstone and Grunthal. Whatever Dad did, from hoeing beets, to farming, to real estate, he did it with honesty and integrity, and he never went against his values.

Mom and Dad were blessed with a long marriage, celebrating 62 years last June. Their love and devotion to each other, with Christ at the center of their marriage, has been an inspiring example to their children and grandchildren. Dad always referred to Mom as his “sweetheart”.

Our family is extremely thankful for the amazing care and support received from everyone during this difficult time. We are especially thankful to Dr. Darren Reimer, for his incredible care and support for not only Dad, but the entire family, and the palliative care nurse team, specifically Debbie Krahn, for always being there for Dad and us when we needed her. We will always remember Dad as a devout Christian who radiated Jesus’ love, devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, a hard worker who always provided, a man who followed his passions and lived life to the fullest, and a jokester who just loved to make people smile and laugh!

A Public Come & Go Viewing will be held on Monday, May 24, 2021 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB., with Covid protocol’s in place.

The Private Family Livestreamed Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB.

Interment will take place at Heritage Cemetery, Steinbach, MB.

• mySteinbach
• Steinbach Homes
• Steinbach Real Estate
• Steinbach Jobs
• RSS Feeds
• Get in Touch