Leonard Barkman

Obituary

Leonard Barkman was born in Winnipeg, MB, on August 4th, 1937, to Abram and Helena Barkman of Blumenort, MB. He passed away, peacefully with his family at his side, in Resthaven on October 8th, 2022, exactly on his 63rd wedding anniversary – leaving behind his beloved wife Betty and their six children, Walter, Jolyn, Laurie, Lois, Wendy and Dylan with their spouses and families. See the list on memorial card’s back cover. As long as his memory remained, he thoroughly appreciated every single member of our nicely blended family.

He also leaves to mourn, all of his five siblings with their spouses and families, Betty’s siblings with their spouses and families as well as a host of friends and relatives. He was predeceased by his parents, daughter-in-law Dianna, son-in-law Darrell, sister-in-law Tina, brother-in-law Alvin as well as in 1963 (premature, stillborn) twin sons.

Leonard was a man with a big heart. He loved many things. That included all things nature: Joubert Creek and the bubbling brooks that fed it; riverbanks and sloping hillsides, (even built his winding driveway around that); oak trees with all the squirrels and birds that come with them; animals (horses for riding and even beavers with their notorious dams); antiques – yes, especially old barns or red hip-roofed barns (every time we travelled, when we saw one, we had to stop and take a picture) and old tractors too. Especially John Deeres. Yes, he had green in his blood.

But the greatest loves of his life were not things. They were people. He loved Betty and the kids, loyally faithfully, passionately. Yet his love never ended there. His heart had big enough spaces to love every individual in his church and know them all by name; everyone residing in his community and beyond, regardless of position or nationality. He loved pretty much everyone he met whether that meant pulling a drunk driver’s car out of the ditch in the middle of the night, or making a gas station attendant smile with his one-liners (which included a dad-joke followed by a Bible verse), or blessing a grader operator with a cold refreshing Pepsi. At times this love, so spread out, did complicate things a bit at home, like when Leonard would make a quick exit in the middle of a family gathering to minister to those in need. But, even amazing people get tired… and good kids still sometimes yearn for more undivided attention. Right?

The very foremost passion of his heart was to serve God faithfully all of his days. He planned never to retire, and to die in his work boots. (That’s one wish he didn’t get).

With this kind of commitment to God, as the founder of Pansy Chapel, he never wavered in his passion to build the church. Yet those early years were rough. There was no phone at first. Banks and fuel trucks refused to serve such a notoriously “bad” community. Money was scarce. Since the church was not yet into pastor support, we eked out our living on a little dairy farm. In time that grew bigger and better, eventually changing to beef cattle – always making his own feed. In due time the support issue was also changed. But praise the Lord, even in the dry years we were never without food and shelter. God is so faithful!

Although as a child he was shy and nobody would have guessed that he’d become a preacher, he loved to preach. Obviously, it was a gift he’d been given. With this gift and all the things it involved – meetings, counselling, prayer, visitations and sometimes sleepless nights, he served heartily for 50+ years in Pansy plus two each in Copeland, Kansas, and Mount Salem, Ontario. A number of times he also did a series of revival meetings in different churches, including Mexico, southern Ontario, and southern Alberta. He loved nothing more than to see a person come to faith in Jesus Christ. He championed Church youth groups, often speaking at their retreats. He also spoke at couple retreats and fought for healthy marriages. He officiated at over 200 weddings, carefully counselling these couples and many others. He served at countless funerals too. He was passionate in his belief that no one should ever attend one without being presented with Jesus’ love and the sobering reality of their own appointment with eternity, holding firmly to Jesus’ words, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” ~ John 14:6

Leonard, you have left us a profound legacy. Not perfect, far from perfect actually, but still so amazing. It broke our hearts when we saw your decline into the grips of a tragic disease. You who were so strong and so often healthy. You who knew us all by name and so much more…

To keep your legacy alive, we will keep singing some of the hymns you loved and every so often give each other one of your famous high-fives. Your footprints may be too big for us to emulate but we’ll try to be faithful to the Lord as well. And we so much look forward to seeing you again. Soon. Even so “Come Lord Jesus.”

Viewing will take place Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB, with a time of reflection at 7:00 p.m.

Funeral service will take place Thursday, October 13, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., at Pansy Chapel, 32077 Rd 21N, Pansy, MB, with interment to follow at the chapel cemetery. There will also be a viewing one hour prior to the service.

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