Peter Elias was born in Blumenfeld on October 22, 1942 to Peter G. and Katherine Elias. He passed away peacefully at home on November 15 under the watchful care of
Linda and the family. He is survived by his wife Linda, children Valerie (Conrad) Zacharias, Patty (Wes) Neufeld and Robert Elias and 6 grandchildren (Davy (Raphael) Kim, Jude, Levi and Cade Zacharias, and Michael and Amy Neufeld), as well as 5 siblings and their families. He was predeceased by his parents and one sibling in infancy.
Peter was a kind, joyful and generous man who was always willing to help and encourage the people in his path.
He accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and was baptized on the confession of his faith on May 21, 1961. Faith was always very important to Peter, with prayer and Bible reading being part of his daily routine with his family. Whenever the family was camping, there were many special times where Peter would take them out on the boat and find an island where they would have their own special God time with each other in nature.
Peter spent his childhood on several different farms in southern Manitoba and always enjoyed telling stories of his hair-raising adventures with his 3 brothers and 2 sisters with whom he loved spending time until the end.
High school was spent in Winkler where he boarded and enjoyed sports, music and connecting with friends. This is where Peter started playing the cello which became a lifelong love and brought him a lot of joy.
During his twenties, Peter moved to Winnipeg and became the chief X-ray technologist at Misericordia Hospital where he worked for 3 years.
He loved playing baseball for the Bethel Blues, his church team, where he was pitcher and catcher. His love of sports continued through his life with tennis, golf and curling often being places where he could relax, unwind, be with friends and even have some informal meetings if he needed to.
In 1968, Peter graduated with his Diploma in Hospital Administration from the University of Saskatoon. This was a significant point in Peter’s life as he spent the rest of his
professional career in this field.
It was also significant because this was the year, on April 5, that Peter married Linda Maria Klassen, his wonderful life partner that would share in all the adventures that
were to come.
Peter’s administrative career began in Arborg, Fisher Branch and Ashern in 1970 where he was in charge of all three hospitals. From there he moved on to Gimli where he
administrated for 4 years. It was during these years that all 3 children were born. Their young family enjoyed living in this beautiful area, minutes from the beaches and
playgrounds.
While living in the Interlake, Peter and Linda worshipped at the Riverton Gospel Chapel where they were greatly impacted by the genuine fellowship and community, and were also able to serve as youth leaders.
In 1975, Peter became the administrator of the Altona Hospital and moved his family there. They eventually bought property in Altberghtal where he and Linda renovated an old teacherage which became their home for the next 30 years. Next to the Buffalo Creek, this yard gave their growing family space and opportunity to skate, snowmobile, swim, canoe, fish and motorbike with freedom.
Peter was passionate about providing quality healthcare to every community that he worked in. He cared about the team of people working in his hospitals and for every person that walked through the doors needing care. Peter was honorable and responsible as he advocated for his hospital and community, and was instrumental in bringing doctors and surgeons to the area as well as in building a new facility in Altona.
Peter’s sense of humor and good nature were essential as he navigated the many relationships and politics that were often part of his world. Even with a stressful exit from his career, Peter continued to want the very best healthcare for people in his community.
As much as being an administrator was part of who Peter was, he always looked forward to coming home to Linda and his family. He loved to work outside, cutting wood and taking care of his yard, Ford trucks and Kubota tractor. He could fix anything! He and Rob were always taking something apart, finding the problem and hopefully getting it back together again. Peter took his family on road trips across Canada. He took holiday time and travelled to Health Care conventions as well as spent many summers camping and waterskiing.
Music played an important role in Peter’s life. He continued to take cello lessons into retirement. He always looked forward to playing with his children and grandchildren as well as in the Prairie Strings quartet with his brother. He loved to sing, spending many seasons in the Southern Manitoba Choral Society and Faith and Life Male Choir.
Once Peter and Linda moved to Reinland, life became filled with helping on the dairy farm, driving tractors and of course giving rides to all of his grandchildren on his quad. It was not unusual to find Peter on the floor playing or in the pool swimming with a grandchild on each arm.
Peter loved anything lemon. This manifested in Linda making Peter a lemon dessert on the 5th of every month in honor of their anniversary.
He was never afraid to show how deeply in love he was with Linda. Very recently, some of Dad’s last words were, “Is this the beautiful girl I married? I just want you to know that I really love you.”
Peter and Linda have really appreciated the visits of the many special individuals and families who came to support them in these last, very difficult days. Peter kept his sense of humor right till the end if only by giving you one of his smiles.
Peter, we love you, and you will be dearly missed.
Linda and the family. He is survived by his wife Linda, children Valerie (Conrad) Zacharias, Patty (Wes) Neufeld and Robert Elias and 6 grandchildren (Davy (Raphael) Kim, Jude, Levi and Cade Zacharias, and Michael and Amy Neufeld), as well as 5 siblings and their families. He was predeceased by his parents and one sibling in infancy.
Peter was a kind, joyful and generous man who was always willing to help and encourage the people in his path.
He accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and was baptized on the confession of his faith on May 21, 1961. Faith was always very important to Peter, with prayer and Bible reading being part of his daily routine with his family. Whenever the family was camping, there were many special times where Peter would take them out on the boat and find an island where they would have their own special God time with each other in nature.
Peter spent his childhood on several different farms in southern Manitoba and always enjoyed telling stories of his hair-raising adventures with his 3 brothers and 2 sisters with whom he loved spending time until the end.
High school was spent in Winkler where he boarded and enjoyed sports, music and connecting with friends. This is where Peter started playing the cello which became a lifelong love and brought him a lot of joy.
During his twenties, Peter moved to Winnipeg and became the chief X-ray technologist at Misericordia Hospital where he worked for 3 years.
He loved playing baseball for the Bethel Blues, his church team, where he was pitcher and catcher. His love of sports continued through his life with tennis, golf and curling often being places where he could relax, unwind, be with friends and even have some informal meetings if he needed to.
In 1968, Peter graduated with his Diploma in Hospital Administration from the University of Saskatoon. This was a significant point in Peter’s life as he spent the rest of his
professional career in this field.
It was also significant because this was the year, on April 5, that Peter married Linda Maria Klassen, his wonderful life partner that would share in all the adventures that
were to come.
Peter’s administrative career began in Arborg, Fisher Branch and Ashern in 1970 where he was in charge of all three hospitals. From there he moved on to Gimli where he
administrated for 4 years. It was during these years that all 3 children were born. Their young family enjoyed living in this beautiful area, minutes from the beaches and
playgrounds.
While living in the Interlake, Peter and Linda worshipped at the Riverton Gospel Chapel where they were greatly impacted by the genuine fellowship and community, and were also able to serve as youth leaders.
In 1975, Peter became the administrator of the Altona Hospital and moved his family there. They eventually bought property in Altberghtal where he and Linda renovated an old teacherage which became their home for the next 30 years. Next to the Buffalo Creek, this yard gave their growing family space and opportunity to skate, snowmobile, swim, canoe, fish and motorbike with freedom.
Peter was passionate about providing quality healthcare to every community that he worked in. He cared about the team of people working in his hospitals and for every person that walked through the doors needing care. Peter was honorable and responsible as he advocated for his hospital and community, and was instrumental in bringing doctors and surgeons to the area as well as in building a new facility in Altona.
Peter’s sense of humor and good nature were essential as he navigated the many relationships and politics that were often part of his world. Even with a stressful exit from his career, Peter continued to want the very best healthcare for people in his community.
As much as being an administrator was part of who Peter was, he always looked forward to coming home to Linda and his family. He loved to work outside, cutting wood and taking care of his yard, Ford trucks and Kubota tractor. He could fix anything! He and Rob were always taking something apart, finding the problem and hopefully getting it back together again. Peter took his family on road trips across Canada. He took holiday time and travelled to Health Care conventions as well as spent many summers camping and waterskiing.
Music played an important role in Peter’s life. He continued to take cello lessons into retirement. He always looked forward to playing with his children and grandchildren as well as in the Prairie Strings quartet with his brother. He loved to sing, spending many seasons in the Southern Manitoba Choral Society and Faith and Life Male Choir.
Once Peter and Linda moved to Reinland, life became filled with helping on the dairy farm, driving tractors and of course giving rides to all of his grandchildren on his quad. It was not unusual to find Peter on the floor playing or in the pool swimming with a grandchild on each arm.
Peter loved anything lemon. This manifested in Linda making Peter a lemon dessert on the 5th of every month in honor of their anniversary.
He was never afraid to show how deeply in love he was with Linda. Very recently, some of Dad’s last words were, “Is this the beautiful girl I married? I just want you to know that I really love you.”
Peter and Linda have really appreciated the visits of the many special individuals and families who came to support them in these last, very difficult days. Peter kept his sense of humor right till the end if only by giving you one of his smiles.
Peter, we love you, and you will be dearly missed.