Henry D.P. Hildebrand

1947 - 2006

Dad was born in Morden on November 7, 1947 to Peter and Elizabeth Hildebrand.  He grew up on the Hildebrand family farm northeast of Winkler with his brother Bert.  When he was 14, he gave his life to Jesus at an evangelistic meeting.  He was baptized in Winkler Bergthaler church at the age of 19.

In February of 1969, he received a valentine from Mary Epp and their romance began.  On July 12, 1970 Dad married that awesome woman, and in June of the following year they had their first child, Walter.  They lived on Ben Enns’ grain farm in Kronsgart for a few years where Dad worked as a farm hand.

From there they moved to Carman, where he also worked as farm hand for Allan Wiebe until the fall of 1976.  During that time they had two more sons, Cliff and Kenny.  In November of that year, they took over the Hildebrand family homestead and in December their daughter Tracy was born.

In addition to farming the land, Dad worked at a couple of different places in Winkler including Berdick and Kroekers before starting his job at Triple-E in January of 1978.  He worked there for 28 years learning just about everything there was to know about putting together a motorhome, finally settling in the electrical department.  He also had the privilege of working alongside his son Kenny for 10 years.

His experience from different jobs gave him a wide variety of skills which he continuously put into practice.  Sometimes it was fixing his families’ vehicles and sometimes it was building furniture.  Often it was someway of improving the family farm.  If it needed building, he built it.  If it needed ripping down, he ripped it down.  If something needed planting, he planted and made it grow.  If there was a job to do, he did it.

Dad also enjoyed his church family at the Winkler Bergthaler.  He sang bass, ushered, taught Sunday School and for several years filled the role of Sunday School superintendent.  For the past seven or eight years, he and Mom served as deacons which opened up his eyes to see the many treasures to be found in the people around him.

Dad was a passionate Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan.  He rarely missed a game whether it was listening to the game on the radio, watching in the stands or shouting from his recliner.  If yelling at the TV would have helped the Bombers win, they would have had a 30 year winning streak.

Dad was also passionate about his kids, so he and Mom ended up chasing them around the world.  They chased them to Pennsylvania, New York, Savannah, and even as far as Taiwan.

He had the honour of welcoming 3 additional daughters into the family.  Leanne married Cliff, Jolene married Kenny, and Sherrie married Walter.  He never called them daughters-in-law, rather they were daughters #2, #3 & #4.

Around 1997, Dad made a decision to start his retirement before he retired.  So he went fishing.  He fished with Mom.  He fished with his kids.  He fished with his brother.  He fished with his brothers-in-law.  He fished with his friends.  And in each case, he used it to build friendships and make the strong friendships even stronger.

His pre-retirement retirement also included the birth of his grandson Tate.  If Tate was around, Grandpa was usually to be found somewhere on the floor, crawling after him.

On April 8, Dad suffered a stroke at home.  He spent his last days with his wife and family at the Boundary Trails hospital.  On April 12, surrounded by them, he slipped away.  Though we miss him now, we know we will see him again.

He is survived by his wife Mary, 3 sons and 1 daughter and their families, his mother, and 1 brother.  He is predeceased by his father.

Funeral service was held Monday, April 17, 2006 at Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church at 2:00 pm with Rev. Peter Penner and Rev. Ben Pauls officiating.  Interment followed at Winkler Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Henry’s name to the Bergthaler Missions Fund C/O Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church.

Wiebe Funeral Home in care of arrangements.