Edwin Wiebe
Obituary
Edwin was born on March 29, 1948, in Steinbach, MB, and passed away on Monday, June 8, 2026, at Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg.
He leaves to mourn his wife Elnora (née Hildebrand), daughter Christabel and husband Simon Hughes (Parker and Nelson), son Roger and wife Lindsay (Lena and Thomas), daughter Tania (Dylan), and a loving extended family including brothers Larry (Lorraine) and Rick (Heather), sister Debbie (Curtis), his Hildebrand in-laws, and many nieces, nephews, and friends.
Edwin was born to Diedrich and Katharina Wiebe (née Friesen), and grew up on the family farm near Randolph, MB. He possessed a farm kid’s facility with machinery and tools, and worked briefly as an electrician upon graduating from high school. He went on to study education at the University of Manitoba, with the goal of becoming a schoolteacher. While at university, he developed a love for theatre, which led to roles in both university and community productions in Low German (his first language). He married Elnora Hildebrand of Landmark, MB on August 29, 1970, and was welcomed by her large, active family.
After graduation from U of M, he took a position as principal at a small school in Hochfeld, MB, but after one year, he decided teaching was not for him. He and Elnora moved back to Winnipeg, and he took a job in construction; they welcomed the birth of daughter Christabel in July 1972. One year later Edwin and Elnora relocated to Landmark, and built a home on land inherited from Elnora’s family. He settled easily into the community and his new job as parts manager at the local Pontiac dealership. Edwin and Elnora welcomed son Roger in 1976, followed by daughter Tania in 1980. During this time, Edwin enjoyed participating in Old Timer hockey at the local rink, which kept him in the game after years of refereeing throughout southeastern Manitoba. He was also involved in a Low German slapstick drama troupe, staging productions as Plautdietsche Oavent throughout southeastern Manitoba to large and enthusiastic audiences. Many raucous evenings were spent playing cards with Elnora’s family.
He was a wide and discerning reader, and closely followed politics and current events. Eventually, his innate curiosity and political conscience led him to seek experiences further afield, and in 1980, he and Elnora accepted their first volunteer assignment with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) at a private high school near Niagara Falls, ON. After three memorable years building bridges in a new community and exploring the glories of the southern Ontario back country, Edwin and Elnora returned to their home in Landmark. Edwin continued to seek his calling and pursued a Bachelor of Theology, with the eventual goal of becoming a chaplain. He held a part-time job in the camera department at Penner Foods in Steinbach during his studies; his love of tinkering had by then extended to a serious interest in photography. Although he was drawn to a career in chaplaincy and found his practicum very fulfilling, a job was not readily available upon graduation. He learned of a position as provincial refugee coordinator at MCC’s offices in Winnipeg and was accepted to the position in 1987. It would become his most defining career change, and a cause to which he would dedicate the rest of his life.
He spent over a decade in this role, working mainly with refugee resettlement and family reunification. In 1993, he and Elnora moved to Winnipeg to be closer to the office and the airport, as the demands of his job grew. In 2001, he and Elnora accepted a field position with MCC in Belgrade, Serbia as consultants to a local NGO providing non-partisan support to people displaced in the Balkan wars. The experience of living in southeast Europe was fascinating and enriching for both of them. They returned to Winnipeg in 2004, and Edwin was appointed national refugee program coordinator for MCC. These were the most rewarding years of his career, involving extensive travel and participation on both federal and NGO working committees in immigration and refugee policy. Together with his colleagues at partner organizations across the country, they laid the groundwork for the creation of the National Refugee Sponsorship Association of Canada. Upon his retirement in 2015, he was honoured by colleagues across the country for his years of service and commitment to the rights of refugees.
After retirement, he followed the pursuits of his family with great interest, attending events and catching up at weekly Sunday brunches with his kids and grandkids. He also enjoyed travel, music festivals, winemaking, countless hours listening to Audible and public radio, and hanging out with his and Elnora’s close gang of friends, despite the challenges of increasingly low vision. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020, and spent the last two years of his life in the care of the wonderful staff of Tower 6 at Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 19, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., Birchwood Funeral Chapel Co-op, Steinbach, MB.
