Private memorial service will be held at 11:00AM on Friday December 3, 2021 at the Sommerfeld Church in Reinland (parking lot service available at 101.3FM). Viewing will be from 12:00-9PM on Wednesday at Wiebe Funeral Home, Winkler. Private family interment prior to the service at the Reinland Mennonite Church Cemetery, Schanzenfeld.
(Livestream will be available via www.reinlandsommerfeld.com)
Cornelius Unrau
1942 ~ 2021
Dad was born June 7, 1942 to Diedrich and Elizabeth Unrau of Plum Coulee, MB. He was baptized in 1962. He married Martha Dyck on October 29, 1972.Dad grew up in Hofnungsart school district where he attended school. He attended the after-school program, similar to 4-H today. After school he worked on the farm. Early on in his farming career he grew and raised a variety of crops and animals. Dad also kept bees and enjoyed his garden and fruit trees. He rented out most of his cultivated acres in the early 1990’s due to health reasons. This was a difficult time for him as dad could not drive and he had to see someone else work his land. A few years later the cream quota was sold and the cows were used for raising calves. During the time that he milked cows, he served on the Manitoba Milk Board.
Trips to the Experimental Farm in Morden to see the flowers and trees was something he enjoyed. Fall drives in the Pembina Hills were annual events. Dad also enjoyed the outdoors. His brother Frank owned wood property at one time, this was often referenced. He enjoyed going hunting so that he had a reason to spend time walking in the woods. He also loved spending time at Tim’s land near Piney with his children and grandchildren. Reading was another thing he enjoyed. Many hours were spent reading up on various topics that piqued his interest. Later on in life, books were often dropped off to be read so he could sensor them for his grandchildren. By example, he taught us many life lessons. One of them being how to manage finances. You did it carefully, thoughtfully, and with in-depth research. When Tim was contemplating buying land, we were somewhat taken aback by the passion and enthusiasm displayed by Dad. This was one exception where there were no cons and no resistance to this purchase. He was the biggest support of this cause. Once the purchase was made, he was always making plans for family outings to Tim’s land. It surprised us that he didn’t take up permanent residence there. Attending church was an absolute priority and he served there faithfully. He taught us more lessons by how he lived than by what he said. He was not one to complain about hard work, like mucking out the barn in winter, or putting up bales in the heat of summer. Dad did not hire people easily and would usually figure out a way to tackle things on his own and do it successfully. He also took care of the ones he loved in his own quiet ways, such as registering their van under Mom’s name so that if he should pass away, she would not have as much to deal with. Learning and education were important to him. One rule that often was repeated was the first thing to do after school was homework, even if there was farm work to do. If someone had a school function of some kind, there was always a way to attend no matter what the workload was on the farm. Early morning trips to Winkler for band practice or after school trips to pick up drama students, were never inconveniences. He never complained about the noise when we practiced our instruments. His passion for promoting musical skills did not stop at his children but continued on to his grandchildren. One of his hobbies was growing fruit trees and vegetables. He took a winter course on horticultural where he learned how to graft and propagate. At one point he had a tree with 4-5 different varieties of apples propagated to one root stock. In later years he focused more on tomatoes. He had up to 60 tomatoes of different varieties in his garden. Every spring a trip was made to “yant zeed” to get Hungarian tomatoes, because that was the only greenhouse that had that variety. It could not be any other kind of Ox Heart but had to be the Hungarian. He wanted to make sure that each of his children also had a plant of this variety. Even after they moved to town in 2018 due to Mom’s health, he still had a garden. Many summer mornings were spent back at the farm tending to it. He enjoyed visiting with anyone and everyone. If he had something in common with someone, he was ready to discuss it. Be that bee keeping with his grandson Tom, gardening with a friend from Lowe Farm, or anything with anyone, really.
Dad is survived by his children Phyllis (John); Kaitlin, Sam, Tom, Elizabeth, Tim (Jennifer); Preston, Kadence, Lisa (Mike); Clair, Orrin, Jocelyn Daniel. He leaves to mourn his siblings Diedrich, Helen, Anne, Betty, Frank (Jessie). In laws Susan (Dave), Cornie, Trudy, Ike, (Lena), Katie, Esther, (Abe), Ernie, (Betty), Ed, (Deb), Jim, (Katherine), Don, (Lisa). He was predeceased by his parents, brother Pete, and many in-laws.
The family would like to thank all the many people who have held us up in prayer and supported us in so many ways with kind words, food, acts of service, and love. We would also like to thank the caring and compassionate health care workers that took care of our father during his stay at the hospital.
(Livestream will be available via www.reinlandsommerfeld.com)
Cornelius Unrau
1942 ~ 2021
Dad was born June 7, 1942 to Diedrich and Elizabeth Unrau of Plum Coulee, MB. He was baptized in 1962. He married Martha Dyck on October 29, 1972.Dad grew up in Hofnungsart school district where he attended school. He attended the after-school program, similar to 4-H today. After school he worked on the farm. Early on in his farming career he grew and raised a variety of crops and animals. Dad also kept bees and enjoyed his garden and fruit trees. He rented out most of his cultivated acres in the early 1990’s due to health reasons. This was a difficult time for him as dad could not drive and he had to see someone else work his land. A few years later the cream quota was sold and the cows were used for raising calves. During the time that he milked cows, he served on the Manitoba Milk Board.
Trips to the Experimental Farm in Morden to see the flowers and trees was something he enjoyed. Fall drives in the Pembina Hills were annual events. Dad also enjoyed the outdoors. His brother Frank owned wood property at one time, this was often referenced. He enjoyed going hunting so that he had a reason to spend time walking in the woods. He also loved spending time at Tim’s land near Piney with his children and grandchildren. Reading was another thing he enjoyed. Many hours were spent reading up on various topics that piqued his interest. Later on in life, books were often dropped off to be read so he could sensor them for his grandchildren. By example, he taught us many life lessons. One of them being how to manage finances. You did it carefully, thoughtfully, and with in-depth research. When Tim was contemplating buying land, we were somewhat taken aback by the passion and enthusiasm displayed by Dad. This was one exception where there were no cons and no resistance to this purchase. He was the biggest support of this cause. Once the purchase was made, he was always making plans for family outings to Tim’s land. It surprised us that he didn’t take up permanent residence there. Attending church was an absolute priority and he served there faithfully. He taught us more lessons by how he lived than by what he said. He was not one to complain about hard work, like mucking out the barn in winter, or putting up bales in the heat of summer. Dad did not hire people easily and would usually figure out a way to tackle things on his own and do it successfully. He also took care of the ones he loved in his own quiet ways, such as registering their van under Mom’s name so that if he should pass away, she would not have as much to deal with. Learning and education were important to him. One rule that often was repeated was the first thing to do after school was homework, even if there was farm work to do. If someone had a school function of some kind, there was always a way to attend no matter what the workload was on the farm. Early morning trips to Winkler for band practice or after school trips to pick up drama students, were never inconveniences. He never complained about the noise when we practiced our instruments. His passion for promoting musical skills did not stop at his children but continued on to his grandchildren. One of his hobbies was growing fruit trees and vegetables. He took a winter course on horticultural where he learned how to graft and propagate. At one point he had a tree with 4-5 different varieties of apples propagated to one root stock. In later years he focused more on tomatoes. He had up to 60 tomatoes of different varieties in his garden. Every spring a trip was made to “yant zeed” to get Hungarian tomatoes, because that was the only greenhouse that had that variety. It could not be any other kind of Ox Heart but had to be the Hungarian. He wanted to make sure that each of his children also had a plant of this variety. Even after they moved to town in 2018 due to Mom’s health, he still had a garden. Many summer mornings were spent back at the farm tending to it. He enjoyed visiting with anyone and everyone. If he had something in common with someone, he was ready to discuss it. Be that bee keeping with his grandson Tom, gardening with a friend from Lowe Farm, or anything with anyone, really.
Dad is survived by his children Phyllis (John); Kaitlin, Sam, Tom, Elizabeth, Tim (Jennifer); Preston, Kadence, Lisa (Mike); Clair, Orrin, Jocelyn Daniel. He leaves to mourn his siblings Diedrich, Helen, Anne, Betty, Frank (Jessie). In laws Susan (Dave), Cornie, Trudy, Ike, (Lena), Katie, Esther, (Abe), Ernie, (Betty), Ed, (Deb), Jim, (Katherine), Don, (Lisa). He was predeceased by his parents, brother Pete, and many in-laws.
The family would like to thank all the many people who have held us up in prayer and supported us in so many ways with kind words, food, acts of service, and love. We would also like to thank the caring and compassionate health care workers that took care of our father during his stay at the hospital.
