Memorable Manitobans: Gerhard Lohrenz (1899-1986)

Cleric, teacher.

Born in the Ukraine on 13 December 1899, he emigrated with his family to Canada in 1925. After farming for three years in Saskatchewan, he attended the Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna from 1928 to 1930, then the Manitou Normal School from 1930 to 1931. He was a public school teacher for 16 years, at Lydiatt School (1931-1938) and Springstein School (1938-1947). In 1947, he became the Principal of the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute at Winnipeg then, from 1952 to 1965, he taught at the Canadian Mennonite Bible College. He was an elder in the Mennonite Church from 1959, and pastor of the Sargent Avenue Mennonite Church from 1965 to 1971. With a strong interest in history, he served as Chairman of the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society. He wrote several books, including The Mennonites of Western Canada (1974) and an autobiography Storm Tossed: The Personal Story of a Canadian Mennonite from Russia (1976). He was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Winnipeg in 1974. He died on 6 January 1986 and was buried in the Springstein Cemetery.

Sources:

“University to honour five Manitobans,” Winnipeg Tribune, 4 October 1974.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 8 February 1986.

Lohrenz, Gerhard (1899-1986). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online, 1989.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 10 May 2015

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