Community activist.
Born at Grunthal on 29 March 1944, son of farmers George and Katie Rempel, the family moved to Niagara, Ontario in his teens then returned to Manitoba to take up a farm near Randolph. He later completed undergraduate and Masters degrees in Agriculture at the University of Manitoba.
From 1968 to 1974, he taught agricultural and technical skills in Botswana with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). In 1971, during a visit to Manitoba, he married wife Mary and they subsequently had two children. In 1976, they moved to Ethiopia where he worked with local farmers. They returned to Canada in 1980 and settled at Niverville where he worked with the MCC's Native Concerns program, partnering with Indigenous communities on such projects as community gardens and small-scale wild rice businesses. A sabbatical allowed him to complete a master's thesis that took the family to Tanzania and he later consulted with such organizations as CICA, MCC, and Lutheran World Service. In retirement, he founded the Southeast Transition Initiative and contributed to a column in the Steinbach Carillon newspaper.
He died on 8 October 2025 and was buried in the Steinbach Heritage Cemetery.
Obituary, Birchwood Funeral Chapel Co-op.
We thank Ed Krahn for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 October 2025
Memorable Manitobans
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