Peter Hildebrand

Obituary

It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our husband, father and grandfather, Peter B Hildebrand, on Friday, November 6, 2020, shortly before his 75th birthday. He passed peacefully at Bethesda Hospital with his wife Linda and daughter Elma at his side.

He was predeceased by his father and mother Isaac & Helena (Bergen) Hildebrand and stepmother Susana (Toews) Hildebrand, 1 sister and 1 brother.

Dad leaves to cherish his memory his loving and devoted wife of 52 years, Linda Hildebrand (nee Doerksen) and his family:

• Son Harry (Regina) and their children Stephanie (Parker) Stevenson, Josie (Braden) Cornelsen and expected baby Lyla
• Daughter Elma (Hans) Schroeder with their children Taylan (Nicole), Jessica (Bryan) Giesbrecht, Kailey
• Son Stanley (Elma) with their children Jacie (Jason) Schroeder, Colleen, Travis, Nicole
• Son Walter (Verna) with their children Chris, Joleen, Candice, Justin
• Daughter Hilda (Werner) Giesbrecht and their children Angela, Jason, Jordan, Bradley, Kimberly, Valerie, Breanna, Tyler
• Son Clarence (Maryann) with children Julia, Sophia
• Son Alvin (Gladys) with children Celino, Kaila
• Son Wesley (Mary) with children Olivia, Malachi
• Son Brian (Leanna) with children Michael, Tyler, Cassidy

Dad is also survived by 6 siblings and numerous brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and many friends.

Dad was born on November 15, 1945, in Steinbach, MB. In 1948, when he was almost 3 years old, his family, including his parents and 3 older siblings, made the big move to Paraguay, travelling by ship with other families. When they arrived in Paraguay, dad got extremely ill and was not expected to survive. Dad did not have an easy childhood for a variety of reasons, but he became a determined man who worked extremely hard all his life.

Dad was baptized upon confession of his faith on June 3, 1968 in Colony Bergthal. And on July 18, 1968, he married the love of his life, our mom, Linda.

Dad was an adventurous person, and this led to a trip in 1979 where he travelled to Canada to explore the option of moving his family to a new country for a better future. Dad concluded that making this move would give the family better opportunities for the future in many areas, most important was the opportunity to continue teaching and growing as believers in Christ. And so, in 1982 they made the move to Canada. Dad started working at Loewen Windows shortly after the move.

In 1994, due to Dad having a lot of health issues and not being able to continue working at Loewen’s, mom and dad moved back to Paraguay with 7 of their children. These next years were very successful years and Dad was able to do what he loved most, which was farming. There was always a lot of hard work, but also a lot of satisfaction. Many Sunday afternoon drives were made to go look at soybean fields, and his fields always looked beautiful. He was extremely picky about making sure there were no weeds growing in those fields. When it was time to think about retirement, mom and dad decided to move back to Canada for this next phase and they lived in Steinbach since 2009.

Dad’s greatest pride and joy was his family. When things were clearly coming towards his end here on this earth, and he was struggling for every breath, he said to the doctor, “Do you know that I have 9 kids and 35 grandkids?” This was said with a lot of pride of course. And these would have been one of the last things he was able to express verbally. He loved his kids and grandkids very much, and he was excited to become a great grandpa. His ultimate desire was that his family follow Jesus and live lives honoring to God. Even though dad struggled with many things, his faith in God was strong and deep. He did not waver in his beliefs and he was sure of his salvation. A verse that was important to him since he was very young is Matthew 23:37, “… how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings”. The last conversations with dad were about all of us meeting in heaven. His pain and struggles are no more. May you enjoy rest and peace on the streets of glory, Dad. We love you so much!

Thank you to Dr Barnard, Dr Mokate, Dr Keeper and staff at Bethesda for your compassionate care for dad and for us.

A private family service will be available via live stream. Please visit the Birchwood website for details.

A private family burial will take place at Heritage Cemetery, Steinbach, MB.

If friends or family so desire, donations in dad’s memory can be made to a charity of one’s choice.