Leo Penner

Obituary

Leo Penner was welcomed to his eternal home in glory on March 19 at the age of 77, just one week before his 78th birthday.

He was born in Blumenort on March 25, 1941 to Bernard & Annie Penner. He married Erma Friesen on September 14, 1963 and they were blessed with 55 years together. Their example of love and faithfulness will forever be a blessing and inspiration for their family.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Erma; daughter, Shirley and Danny Reimer of Blumenort, MB; daughter Melanie Frayle of Blumenort, MB; son Kenley & Carla Penner of St. Joseph, MI; and daughter LaDawn & Mark Venema of Hudsonville, MI. He is survived by his grandchildren Steffan & Kathryn Reimer, Alain & Emily Reimer, Marlaena (Frayle) & Matthew Guenther, Cole & Arianne Reimer, Jesse & Dana Frayle, Katrina Reimer, Robyn Frayle & fiancé Travis Funk, Erin Penner, Alexander Penner, Ashley Penner, Jackson Venema & Jager Venema. Great Grandchildren, Elijah Reimer, Bethany Reimer, Gavin Reimer, Coralie Reimer, Micah Reimer, & Javon Reimer.

He was pre-deceased by his parents Bernard & Annie Penner, his brother Peter Penner, son-in-law Marc Taylor, grand daughter Natalia Frayle, and great grandson Andre Reimer. He is survived by 5 sisters, Bertha & David Plett, Betty & Leo Plett, Lottie & Menno Reimer, Lillie Penner, and Emily & Donald Fast, sister-in-law, Lorna Penner, and brother Larry & Eleanor Penner.

When Leo was first diagnosed with cancer several years ago and a treatment plan was put in place, he was so very thankful that through a round of radiation treatments, followed by 1 1/2 rounds of chemo, he experienced next to no side effects. In fact, one of his biggest concerns was that if he lost his hair, people would know he had cancer. He often expressed how if the doctors had not told him he had cancer, he would not know. It was not until October of 2018 that he really felt the serious effects of the disease. He was very thankful for all the visits and phone calls from relatives and friends. He always thanked us children for coming to help him, and we tried to take every opportunity to remind each other of our love. Our dad did not complain about what was happening to him.

Leo had great peace in knowing Jesus as his personal Lord and Saviour. His devotion to showing the love and compassion of Jesus was evident to everyone he met. He regularly commented how blessed and comforted he was to know that his children and grandchildren also knew Jesus as their Lord.

Leo’s family loved his smile and mischievous twinkle. However, we would like to apologize if you found your outhouse tipped over on Halloween night or if you were one of the girls who accidently witnessed his skinny dipping in the creek in his youth. We are sure he meant no harm. He loved fun, and seemed to be able to turn any job or outing into something enjoyable.

Leo was raised on the family farm in Blumenort and was blessed to purchase the farm, which he and his brother Larry operated together for many years. He was passionate about establishing his farm and advancing it, despite being knocked unconscious and losing his clothes in a PTO accident in his early farming career. After selling his share of the dairy farm to his brother, he and his friend Jim Wiebe ran a haying business together called P&W Hay Farms. Even after retirement, Leo kept busy with a variety of casual work and volunteer opportunities. He could be found on a packer at a Fast Brothers jobsite, counting votes at Steinbach Credit Union annual meetings, installing medical equipment or ramps for Access Mobility, delivering tires for KK Penner & Sons, and assisting at funerals for a local funeral home. Mission opportunities were important to Leo. He went to Haiti where LaDawn was working, and went to Mexico for house-building projects for 10 years. He went on numerous Mennonite Disaster Service trips. On a trip to Venezuela to help some missionary friends, he had an added adventure of alligator hunting. He enjoyed serving on many boards. He was claimed as the unofficial Mayor of Blumenort as he was on the LUD of Blumenort committee for nearly 30 years. He served in different roles including Eagle Lake Bible Camp Board, many Blumenort EMC church committees, Oakwood Place Board, Mennonite Disaster Service Church Representative, Men’s Retreat Committee, the Board of Elite Dairy Breeders of Manitoba, and the President of Manitoba Holstein Branch (even though he humbly said he was not President material!).

Leo helped to initiate and deepen the relationship between Blumenort EMC and the White Dog First Nation. His love for his Saviour overflowed and he developed deep relationships and treasured friendships with many people in White Dog. His passion for the people of White Dog included years of Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, and Bible Camp. A summer would not be complete without his attendance at White Dog teens camp. His dedication was evident as this past summer he went straight to camp after having a chemo treatment that same morning!

It was always evident throughout Leo’s life, that he had a passionate and authentic love for people regardless of their age, nationality, or location; people were his life. In fact, when travelling, it became somewhat of a game to see who he might know and run into while visiting at a distant place. Some examples include running into friends in Amish country in Ohio, in Mexico, and Hawaii.

Leo loved and cherished his family. His greatest joy was in investing in the lives of his children and grandchildren. It became a tradition to treat his grandchildren to breakfast on their birthdays. He instilled a strong work ethic in his children and modeled many valuable life lessons, including how to help others. He also taught the importance of taking time to have fun. The farm would not allow for long vacations but he purchased a camper so he could take his family camping after it rained, as the hay would not be ready for a couple more days! He would also take his family to weekend hotel outings during the non-summer months. Leo and Erma enjoyed annual winter vacations to Mexico or Hawaii while their health allowed. Leo loved to go fishing with friends, siblings, his children and grandchildren. After retiring, he rarely missed a fishing opportunity and he loved eating what he caught. He seemed to enjoy the company as much as the fishing. Two weeks prior to his passing, he was asked what the one thing would be that he would do if he were healthy. His answer was to go fishing with the whole family.

Leo also loved supporting his children and grandchildren and greatly enjoyed attending their sporting events (both here and in Michigan). When asked if he would like to attend something, he would say YES and then ask, ‘when and where are we going?’! This attitude allowed him to take advantage of many special opportunities.

Leo enjoyed being part of the Southeast Tractor Club and in taking the family farm’s first tractor, the Farmal W-4, on the annual Tractor Trek. He loved taking grandchildren for rides on that tractor and would usually say, “Okay… Here we goooo” as he would release the clutch.

Regularly at Christmas Leo made lots of Christmas cookies to be shared with family. He was legendary for his intricate painting on the icing on the animal shape cookies, complete with saddles and reins on horses and eye lashes on bunnies. His family will forever remember his famous Christmas cookies and the time they spent together eating them!

Leo had a love for his dogs who accompanied him on his daily bicycle rides. He would not take the dogs to a vet or groomer, as that was not necessary, but he would administer haircuts to the dogs, provide them Tylenol when needed, and Wonder Oil for events that may or may not have called for Wonder Oil.

After retiring, Leo enjoyed puzzling with his children and grandchildren. He requested that his current 30 puzzles be hung in his new home’s basement which his granddaughters gladly did for him. However, there was one puzzle that did not end up on the wall, but rather ended in the fireplace due to the frustration it caused when he was putting it together.

If anyone needed to find Leo mid-morning, he could be found with the JT coffee shop gang solving the world’s problems. Although he enjoyed the coffee, he mostly enjoyed the company. The same was true at Larry’s Tea House for mid-afternoon tea and Oreo time. Leo loved to be with people and to impact them in meaningful ways. This was evident to his family when there was never a shortage of people who wanted to drive him to his 39 consecutive radiation appointments in Winnipeg.

Leo organized breakfast with his brothers and brothers-in-law whenever one of them would have a birthday, and later they became regular sibling breakfasts as it seemed the ladies were jealous of the men going without them. He treasured the time he spent with his siblings and Erma’s siblings. The birthday breakfasts provided an excellent opportunity to fellowship. He loved picking strawberries and blueberries, and even after he seemed to have lots of berries, he would regularly schedule another trip with siblings and friends to get more. He also had a large garden and blessed many people with excess produce.

It was a genuine pleasure and an honor for Leo to show Christ’s love to everyone he came in contact with. Many people felt that blessing and have been deeply impacted and inspired by it. We as a family especially feel this way. Although he was not perfect, he was a great man with a Christlike character, and he will be deeply missed.

The funeral service will be held Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 2:30 p.m., at the Blumenort EMC, Blumenort, MB., with interment at the Blumenort EMC Cemetery. Viewing will be one hour prior to the service.

If friends so desire, donations may be made to Eagle Lake Bible Camp (Blumenort EMC ministry) PO Box 114, Blumenort, MB, R0A 0C0.

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