Obituary of Larry Irvin Wiebe

To view the livestream of Larry's funeral service on Saturday, October 9 at 1:00 pm EDT, please click here

October 24, 1948 – September 26, 2021

We celebrate the well lived life, and honour the on-going presence, generosity, and love that Larry modeled to all he knew and met.

Larry was born to Waldo and Sara Wiebe of Horndean, Manitoba on October 24, 1948. He passed away peacefully on September 26, 2021 in Kitchener, Ontario, surrounded by his family.  Larry grew up on the family farm, which he helped run after losing his father at 16. He continued to provide support for his mother until she passed when Larry was 31. This set the tone for Larry’s sensitivity in helping and supporting family, friends, and others for the rest of his life as exemplified by the donation of his lungs and eyes as an organ donor.

Larry met the love of his life and soul-mate, Dorothy Sawatzky when he was 18 years old. They were married in 1970 and celebrated 50 years of marriage in December. They loved spending time with family and friends throughout their lives. They spent their retirement at their home on Willard Lake, ON, travelling to many places such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, Churchill, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. In 2017, they moved to Kitchener to be close to their grandchildren.  Larry loved to help others and volunteered in many places over the years such as the snowmobile club, the food bank, soup kitchens, church, The Gleaners, The Breakfast Club, Mennonite Disaster Services, Ten Thousand Villages, Community Support Connections, and the community garden.  He even volunteered when he travelled abroad in Churchill, the Dominican Republic, and in Mexico.

Larry’s first job after graduating from high school was writing advertisements for the radio station in Altona, Manitoba. He then worked as a property assessor for the Province of Manitoba based in Steinbach, MB until his retirement in 2004.  He was hard-working and rarely took a day off. He formed life-long friendships through work.

Larry had a strong, but simple faith that helped during difficult times and maintained his positive attitude. He loved family, friends, and the outdoors. He enjoyed living at the lake, reading, fishing, travelling, beer and a good story. In sports, he avidly followed curling, the Winnipeg Jets, the Blue Bombers, and the Toronto Blue Jays.  He shared this love with his grandsons.

Larry was the beloved husband of Dorothy, loving father of Andrea (Derrick), doting grandfather of Ryland and Trenton of Kitchener.  He is survived by his brother Victor (Bruce) in Nanoose Bay, BC and his sister, Loretta (Murray), niece Sarah, and nephew Eric, in Oakbank MB. He will be missed by numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends around the world.

The family would like to thank the physicians, nurses and other health care staff at both the Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital where he received excellent care and support in the last weeks of his life. They would also like to thank Reverend Ellen of Forest Hill United Church in Kitchener for her support during Larry’s final days. Thanks to extended family and friends for your prayers and support.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 6th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, at Waterloo North Mennonite Church, 100 Benjamin Road, Waterloo, Ontario. If weather permits, it will be held outdoors. All are welcome. Please wear a face mask and observe physical distancing.

The funeral service will take place on Saturday, October 9th, at 1:00 pm EDT at Waterloo North Mennonite Church, 100 Benjamin Road, Waterloo, Ontario. Due to COVID capacity restrictions please RSVP to carmen@waterloonorthmc.org by October 5th, 2021. Please dress warmly and casually as COVID protocol requires windows to be open, please wear a face mask. Church COVID protocols will be followed. We invite those who are unvaccinated or unable to attend in person to join through live-streaming at the link located at the top of this obituary.

Memorial donations may be made to The Heart and Stroke Foundation, Mennonite Central Committee’s “Make a Difference with Water,” or make a personal connection with someone in need. Larry’s grandsons picked these charities in his memory.