Louis (Lou) Reimer
Obituary
Lou was born on May 26, 1949, and lived a full life until, on Friday, November 7th, 2025, aggressive cancer snatched him away rather suddenly.
Lou grew up with many friends playing street hockey, riding his bike, playing football on their side yard, excelling in school, and participating in church and school activities. In church youth group and choir, he met his partner for life, Joyce. She conveniently was the sister to his best buddy, Randy. Their marriage is just shy of their 55th Anniversary.
After high school, together with a friend, he travelled to the hinterland of Venezuela. They were near the intersection of Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, among a tribe that had only been discovered two years prior. He experienced much while he was there which was unusual for a 19-year-old; administering measles vaccines during an outbreak and then building wooden pyres to cremate the bodies of those who succumbed to the disease.
He then studied at U of Manitoba, which eventually culminated in a degree in Political Studies and International Affairs. Due to family obligations, he achieved this largely, one evening course at a time. One Saturday afternoon while waiting for Joyce to finish shopping, he casually walked into a MENSA testing site and, of course, aced the test.
Along with his brother Dwight, he joined their father in the construction business. They later slightly switched gears and started Stonecreek Trusses. Some of his dearest moments in his working career came after his retirement when he joined the Emmanuel Church staff as custodian.
Lou’s deep and ingrained faith led him to a life of doing what he could to help the world; always looking for “the right thing to do”. From opening neighbors driveways, spending countless hours volunteering at church, always making a point of remembering the names of those he met, and caring for those who were going through hard times. Many have benefitted from his big bear hugs. He loved God, he loved people!
He especially cherished the years while teaching a Sunday school class of grade twelve kids as well as the years, along with Joyce, being a youth sponsor. 36 Poplar was definitely a popular place to hang out! The Missions Committee, and for many years, the Emmanuel Church Board, benefitted from his leadership, as did the Envision Foundation Board.
He always enjoyed meeting up with his friends from high school, “The Cabal”, and having Saturday morning “Prips” with the guys. His love for genealogy, especially his Mennonite roots, was exhibited many times on social media sites. He had a lifelong love of sports; playing catcher for the Reimer Farm Supply team, cheering on his dear Green Bay Packers, the Jets, and of course, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
But most importantly, as he mentioned before he died, he wanted to be remembered as a loving husband to Joyce and father to dear Mikey, who preceded him into heaven earlier this year. The days after Lou passed, we imagine heaven needing a little help with Mike’s uniqueness. The answer was to send up a parent. We imagine Mikey sitting on Dad’s lap saying, “wa wa” or maybe, “ma ma”.
A while back, Lou came across a quote that he liked: “Death is that state in which one exists in the memory of others, which is why it’s not an ending.” (Unknown) We will always remember and cherish the memory and torch he has left for all of us who loved him. “Well done, dear Lou, we’ll see you soon!”
The memorial service will be held on Friday, November 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., at Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church, 360 McKenzie Ave, Steinbach, MB.
Our heartfelt gratitude to those who cared for Lou in his last few weeks; the Bethesda Hospital ER staff and the compassionate care of the first floor Medicine Unit. Thank you to all who walked beside us through this hard time, especially Terry and Peggy Kaufman. God bless you all!
