Cornelius “Neil” Heinrichs
Obituary
Cornelius “Neil” Heinrichs, age 92, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, passed away on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, MB.
Dad was born Cornelius Henry Heinrichs on September 5, 1933, to Cornelius and Agatha (nee Unger) Heinrichs, in Provost, Alberta, later moving to Glenbush, Saskatchewan. He was raised on the farm, the middle of seven children. He attended Avery School nearby for grades 1-8 and then Glenbush High School, where he was the newsletter editor and star athlete. He was known as Corny for the first 35 years of his life, but changed his name to Neil for professional reasons.
After high school Dad attended Bethany Bible Institute. It was there that he first met Esther though they didn’t get together until a few years later. He said, “My reason for wanting to go (to Bethany) was to explore faith issues that I felt needed to be answered.” He was always open to discussions of faith and remained steadfast in his own faith for life.
After graduating from Bethany, a group decided to go into voluntary service (MVS) and were part of the MVS summer unit in North Battleford. They all worked at the Psychiatric Hospital there which at that time had about 2000 residents. It was there that he learned to craft leather items, woven baskets, plush toys and more, and continued creative pursuits throughout the rest of his life. In the summer of 1956 Dad applied to the training facility at the North Battleford Psychiatric Centre and was accepted. He was not aware that Esther had also applied and was accepted.
They both started classes in August of 1956 and were quite surprised to see each other. The training was rigorous as they had to study and work at the same time. Esther and he saw a lot of each other during this time and this led to them dating and becoming engaged in February of 1957. They both did well in their first year of studies and decided that they were ready to take the step of marriage. On June 15, 1957 they were married in the Dalmeny MB Church. Their five children, Barry, Karen, Donna, Laura, and Darcy were born between 1958-1967.
Dad worked variously as a truck driver, a psychiatric nurse, a social worker, and for much of his life, he juggled a full time management career with what was originally Canada Manpower, and is now under Service Canada. He worked his way up through the ranks with hard work and determination and some university classes, intentionally stopping at a management level below a political appointment. His federal government job frequently took him across western Canada wherever there were government job creation programs. The family lived in various places across the prairies, including Meadow Lake, Battleford, North Battleford, Winnipeg, Edmonton briefly, and back in Winnipeg.
Dad enjoyed fishing and hunting when we were younger, and pursued various collections later, including stamps, matchbooks, pins, coins, and more. Dad had a knack for re-purposing rescued wood, and many people enjoyed his adirondack chairs. He was passionate about growing trees and flowers, as well as his raspberry and strawberry patches.
Our home was always a welcoming place for visitors, whether friends of us children, relatives, or overnight guests from conference events. He and mom often hosted family lunches and dinners on Sundays for all the Winnipeg kids and loved watching the grandchildren grow and change from week to week. We grew up with regular family vacations of sightseeing, camping, visiting relatives, and often road trips to church conferences. Setting up camp with 4 young children must have been a blast! All of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were important to him, including those far away, and dad and mom often traveled to visit family, and planned holidays together. He was happiest surrounded by family.
In the 1970’s, together with two cousins, he helped research and publish the Heinrichs family history book that traces our roots back some 300 years.
He had a very active volunteer life with the church at many levels. Over his lifetime, Dad served as church chair at Bethel church, moderator for what was then the Conference of Mennonites in MB, helped organize and coordinate the Mennonite World Conference when it was hosted in Winnipeg in 1990, and coordinated disaster response for Mennonite Disaster Service in Winnipeg during the Manitoba flood of 1997. He also found time to develop HR policy for the Conference of Mennonites in Canada. Dad volunteered with the Sargent and Selkirk MCC Thrifts Shops and was part of the original group that established the Selkirk Avenue shop.
His volunteer work also took him south of the border with SOUP and to Austria at Schloss Mittersill, where Donna and Norm lived and worked. At the Schloss he and mom helped with childcare of grandchildren, served as houseparent’s for a major yearly conference, he built more adirondack chairs, and helped with other maintenance and repairs at the 800 year old castle.
Dad was deeply involved in the planning and building of Bethel Place. He also was hands-on during Bethel church’s building expansion project completed in 1991, and even learned how to craft stained glass, contributing with other volunteer assemblers to a piece of art that remains on display in the church today. Dad also was very active in volunteering at Bethel Place after moving there.
After 58 years of marriage, Mom passed away in 2015. In 2016, he married Dianne Church, who also lived at Bethel Place. We are grateful to Dianne for the companionship and care she provided to dad. They were together until his passing.
Neil was predeceased by his wife Esther and two children, Darcy and Karen. He is survived by his second wife Dianne, children Barry (Darlene), Donna (Norm), Laura (Dan), 8 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
Dad was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2024, and had a significant decline in health in the latter part of 2025, and rapid decline in the weeks preceding his death. Dad passed away peacefully at St. Boniface Hospital on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, surrounded by family. He will be sorely missed but his love lives on in each of us.
The memorial service will be held on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., at Bethel Mennonite Church, 465 Stafford St, Winnipeg, MB.
