KENNETH (KEN) GERHARDT WERSCHLER

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KENNETH (KEN) GERHARDT WERSCHLER Kenneth (Ken) Gerhardt Werschler was called to his Lord and Saviour on August 16, 2012 at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg. He was predeceased by his father John, his mother Wanda, his brother Keith and his sister Ellen. Ken leaves behind his wife of 56 years Dorothy, his children Jim (Kathie) of Regina, Debbie (Clancy) McCann of Grande Cache, Alberta, John (Kelly) of London, Ontario, his grandchildren Jeffrey, Jaime, Jennifer, Becky, Cory, Nikki and Kimberly and his great-grandchildren Brook and Kiran. He also leaves his sisters Mona (Gaylen) Wallace of Tampa Florida and Norma (Marvin) Janz of Toronto and brother Kelly (Leanne) of Saskatoon as well numerous nephews and nieces. Ken was born in Toropi, Brazil on January 13, 1935 while his parents were Lutheran missionaries. His family returned to Canada in 1940 and lived in various towns in Saskatchewan. Ken was confirmed and finished high school in Estevan, Saskatchewan. He then began a career in the banking industry and married Dorothy on June 24, 1956 in Spring Valley, Minnesota. Ken and the family moved often until he left the bank in Yorkton Saskatchewan in 1964. He worked as an accountant in Yorkton before being transferred by Pepsi Cola to Regina in 1971. He became a partner at General Tire before accepting the position as Treasurer for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Man-Sask District in 1980. Ken remained in this position until he was elected the first Treasurer of the newly formed Lutheran-Church-Canada which commenced in 1988. The National Office of the new Church body was in Winnipeg where Ken and Dorothy moved. Ken and Dot were very active in the Church. While living in Tisdale, every Sunday they would bundle up the three young children and drive an hour to Melfort for Sunday service often through blizzards and poor driving conditions. Ken served on many boards at his local churches and was also very involved at the District and National levels. In his role with Lutheran Church-Canada he was responsible for a number of key initiatives including setting up the Worker Benefits and Pension Plans and sourcing and overseeing the construction of the permanent building which still today houses the National Office. Ken was involved with the Kinsman Club in Tisdale, Yorkton and Regina as well as Toastmasters Club in Regina. Ken was very active playing many sports as a youngster and a very good baseball pitcher. He spent many hours playing with his children and coaching them in various sports. In his later years he enjoyed curling and playing golf and tennis. He also became an enthusiast for growing roses for which he won numerous awards and ribbons. In December 1996 shortly after returning from a conference in Florida, Ken suffered a massive stroke which left him severely disabled. He was unable to care for himself and it was very difficult for him to rely on other people to ensure his daily needs were met. Dot provided him with constant care with the assistance of home care workers allowing him to stay at home which he so badly wanted. Dot was able to do this for him until she also suffered a stroke in October 2011 which meant Ken no longer could stay in his own home. He loved following professional sports and was an avid St. Louis Cardinals and Saskatchewan Roughriders fan and was very interested in watching curling and golf. There will be a celebration of Ken's life at Saint James Lutheran Church, 871 Cavalier Drive, Winnipeg on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. A public viewing will be held on Tuesday between 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. p.m. at Bardal Funeral Home. The family would like to thank the many health care workers who provided Ken with excellent care over the past sixteen years as well as the numerous people from the Church for their kindness and concern for Ken and Dorothy over these difficult times. The family gratefully wishes to decline any flowers and for those so wishing to make a donation in Ken's honour can do so either to St. James Lutheran Church Building Fund, Lutheran Church Canada Missions or to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Funeral Home and Crematorium 843 Sherbrook Street, 204-774-7474 Condolences: www.bardal.ca Parking behind funeral home

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 20, 2012