Evangeline Rempel

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EVANGELINE LEVINA MARIA REMPEL (NEE UNGER)
November 1, 1933 - March 6, 2014

Evangeline Rempel passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 6, 2014, at the age of 80.

She is survived by four children: daughter Melanie Penner (Marvin), daughter Cari Penner (Darrel), son Byron (Genevieve), and daughter Madrece; grandsons: Blake (Lacey), Mickey-Ray, Cameron, and Ryley (Jill); and by her great-grandchildren: Cole, Gabrielle, Hayden, Serge and Cru. She is also survived by her sisters: Lottie Guenther (Peter) and Veleda Goulden; her sister-in-law Betty Unger; several sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was predeceased by her loving husband Raymond Rempel in 2006, with whom she spent fifty-three years; her mother and father Aganetha and John R. Unger, brother Harold, niece Rosalie, grandniece Faye as well as her in-laws Elizabeth and
Peter S. Rempel.

Evangeline was born into a family that loved to sing, who were steadfast in their faith and well-versed in their belief. At an early age she accepted Christ as her Lord and Saviour, and at age five she sang her first solo at a Sunday night Christian Endeavour service, and she just kept on singing with family and friends. She was baptised in the EMB Church in 1948, taught Sunday school, DVBS or Vacation Bible School, and began a girls’ prayer group which became her Girls’ Choir, many of whom became lifelong friends. She also started a chapter of Pioneer Girls in the EMB Church.

She got her education in Steinbach, with a short stint in Winnipeg, and worked as a dental hygienist, a lawyer’s secretary, and assistant to Secretary of the Town of Steinbach. For thirty years she and her husband owned and operated Ray’s Interiors, where Evangeline was an integral part of their success. She counted it a privilege to be the great-granddaughter of the first spiritual leader of Steinbach, and also of the first merchant in Steinbach.

As a teenager, she loved to skate and found real freedom and confidence on the ice. One night at the skating rink, a hockey player broke a light bulb over the ice, and when she went to help pick up the pieces and looked up into the hockey player’s eyes, she fell in love. He turned out to be her husband.

They enjoyed trips to BC and Detroit Lakes with their children, and later several winter holidays with Lottie and Peter in Phoenix and many years with Rich and Veleda in Palm Springs.

What a difference one person makes! Especially a person like Vange [Grandma], who loved to be surrounded by friends and family. Music was a great outlet for her. It lifted her right up into another sphere. She had a rare exuberance. When she attended “Mama Mia” with Veleda and friends, nothing could hold her back and she danced down the aisle all on her own.

She was companionable, understanding, and always ready to encourage others. She had the gift to make lasting friendships. She worked diligently, was hospitable, hosted many Bible studies, and was always ready to give advice.
Without much formal training she took over the 55+ Choir, answering to the words of God to Moses: “Go and do what is in your hand.”

Life also had its hardships, and one that caused a lull in her choir conducting was the birth of her mentally-challenged daughter Madrece, though she was lovingly aided by long-time family friend Levina Reimer. There were other times of illness and distress too – her cancers, her husband’s illness. Through it all she continued her daily devotions and prayers, remembering author Gerald Sittser’s words in “A Grace Disguised”: “We do not always have the freedom to choose the role we play in life, but we can choose how we are going to play the roles we have been given.”
As sad and disquieted as we are now, we know she is fulfilling her greatest desire – singing to the glory of God.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Wilfred Kaethler, Dr. Karen Toews, Cancer Care nurse Bev Dueck, and the staff and caregivers at Bethesda Hospital. The family also wishes to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Levina Reimer, for being by her bedside during the last few months. You were our special angel.

Should friends so desire, donations in memory of Evangeline may be made to envision Foundation (2012) Inc., 84 Brandt Street, Steinbach, MB, R5G 0E1.

The funeral service for Evangeline was held Monday, March 10, 2014 at the Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church, Steinbach, Manitoba.

Arrangements by
BIRCHWOOD FUNERAL CHAPEL
1-204-346-1030 OR 1-888-454-1030

As published in The Carillon on Mar 11, 2014