Abe J. Suderman
Obituary
Abe Suderman passed away on May 14, 2026 at Bethesda Hospital in Steinbach, Manitoba at the age of 80. He was born in Winnipeg on August 18, 1945.
Abe is survived by his beloved wife Ann of 45 years, sister Martha (Cal) Schellenberg, sisters-in-law Jessie (Menno) Plett, Edna Plett and Florence Dupas and brothers-in-law, Elden Penner (Annie), Roland Penner (Connie), and David Hildebrandt, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Abe was predeceased by his parents Diedrich and Marie Suderman, sister Marleen Burgess (Richard), parents-in-law Martin and Justina Penner, sister-in-law Elfrieda Hildebrandt, and brothers-in-law Ruben Plett and Bernie Dupas.
Abe grew up the oldest child of three on the family farm in the Niverville area. He learned to work hard under his father’s tutelage and became a jack-of-all-trades and a bit of an inventor. He enjoyed all things mechanical, welding, fieldwork, building, electrical, and the list goes on and on. The animals on the farm were his love, after tractors. Had to have the animals to be able to afford the tractors. His parents had a dairy farm, but Abe knew he did not want to milk; thus the pig operation was started for Abe. And then of course there were the laying hens that were kept so that bacon and eggs could be enjoyed every morning. Later, with his wife doing the milking, Abe and Ann purchased his parents’ farm and carried on farming until the farm was sold in 1997.
Another hobby that Abe developed was flying. He took flying lessons and later owned and flew a number of his own planes. He felt he had achieved a big goal when he had an airplane, a hangar, and runway behind his own home.
Abe was too young to retire when the farm was sold, so he worked for Piston Ring for awhile and Reimer Farm Supplies, and finished with 13 years working for the Public Works department for the Town of Niverville. Just before he turned 70 he fully retired.
Some projects Abe had after his farming days were building one truck out of two, buying an old small cottage and building a new one over top of the old, and then pulling out the old. There was also fishing and traveling to make up for lost time. His highlight was an Alaskan cruise, which was on his bucket list to do one more time this summer, which sadly will not happen. And we cannot forget his car restoration, a 67 Chevelle, and his SSR convertible truck.
Abe also spent some time in Brazil one year. This was definitely a highlight. He went with a group of men from the church to help build a summer camp. He very much enjoyed learning about a different culture and seeing how farming was done there.
In 2019 Abe was diagnosed with cancer. We knew this cancer was aggressive and not curable. Nevertheless, he still enjoyed a number of good years. We made the move to Niverville in 2020 to lighten the workload. This last winter Abe made the decision to not return to Mexico this year, which he always used to enjoy so much. He spent the last four weeks of his life in the hospital. During this time he often expressed his desire to pass on. He was at peace and he felt that his life here on earth was complete. He had complete assurance that God would take care of him.
I would like to thank all our friends and family, who have shown us so much love. All the thoughts and prayers and visits to the hospital. I would like to say a special thanks to the staff at Ste. Anne Hospital and at Bethesda Hospital for looking after Abe so well during his final days. We both felt so much caring and kindness.
Rest in Peace, Abe. “So long,” until we meet again!
The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB., with viewing one hour prior to the service.
