Obituary of Adolf Reimer
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A visitation for family and friends will be held at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street St., S., Waterloo on Friday, May 1, 2020 from 12:00 p.m - 2:00 pm. Adolf’s extended family and friends may view the service via livestream at www.erbgood.com. An interment will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery, Waterloo. A Celebration of Adolf's Life will be held at a later date.
Adolf Reimer was born on April 24, 1935 in Russia in a small village outside Moscow to David and Maria Reimer. He spent most of his early childhood in the Ukraine. He grew up with a large family. He had twin older brothers Waldemar and Rudy, younger siblings Jenny, Arthur, Viktor, and Mary. He passed away at the age of 85 in his own home on April 24th, 2020 in Kitchener-Waterloo.
He was resilient from the earliest of his days. He mentioned once that when he was a small child he was very sick and the Doctor thought he wasn’t going to pull through. His mother did not give up on him and he recovered.
As a young boy, during World War Two, he experienced fleeing Ukraine from Russia with his family and he lived briefly in Poland and Germany. He mentioned he was 8 years old when he was in Poland.
At one point during the trek to Germany parts of his family became separated from one another. When he was nine years old he had to quickly catch the last German army truck heading west with only his Dad and 5 day old baby sister to rejoin the rest of his family.
He spent time in refugee settlements in and around Berlin until being able to immigrate to Paraguay at the age of 11. His mother took her family on the last train out of the Russian zone while the rest of her siblings and relatives were sent back to Russia. His father rejoined the family when they boarded the Volendam ship at Bremerhaven and went to Paraguay. Here he lived in a two -room mud brick home with his family until the age of twenty. Here he developed his musical talents and he played the Ukulele.
In 1955 he moved to Canada and lived with his family in Kitchener. He eventually picked up the trade of brick laying which for the remainder of his adult life was his occupation. His notable projects included police and fire stations, airport hangers, social buildings, as well as many homes. He was a social young adult with many friends, and he loved to be with people. This included many nights of playing cards and dominoes, and an epic trip to Mexico. He had a collection of cars which included the 1956 Monarch and a Mustang Ford. He loved music and he continued to play the Ukulele and he participated in a church choir at W-K United Mennonite Church. He was fondly remembered by nieces and nephews for how much fun he was to play with.
Eventually he met a lovely woman at a wedding, and he married Annie from Abbotsford, British Columbia. His parents wasted no time and drove him all the way to British Columbia from Kitchener so he could marry her.
Three children became of the beautiful union; Brigitte, Michael, and David. He worked hard for his family and gave them many opportunities to play sports, have music lessons, and have a safe home to live in. He provided stability and when the going got tough he was resilient and persisted through the challenges and stuck by his family. He usually made chimneys for extra income after working all day at his main job. He also continued to help his mother and father when they needed help at their home nearby.
The last six years his mobility gradually declined, and he required the support from Personal Support Workers. He is thankful for their support so he could remain in his home. He continued to be persistent and live his life the best he could. He was happy to become a grandparent for the first time in 2012 when two grandchildren were born. All grandchildren he met made him smile (Matthew, Sophie, Ruby). He was brave to face the last remaining month with his declining health. It is with both sadness and fondness that the family say good-bye to our kind-hearted father.