Obituary for John Bernard Epp
John B. Epp
Dec. 8, 1926 to July 10, 2022
On July 10th, our dear father and grandfather John passed away peacefully at the age of 95.
John was born in Winnipeg in 1926 to Gerhard and Maria Epp. He had five siblings. When he was 15, his family moved to St. Catharines, Ontario. In 1951, John returned to Winnipeg to study at Mennonite Brethren Bible College. One of the required classes for theology students was a music theory course taught by Katie Konrad, a gifted pianist from La Riviere, MB. When John went home to St. Catharines following graduation, Katie happened to be visiting relatives there. The two reconnected and love sparked on a Ferris wheel date in Toronto.
John and Katie were married in 1954. By the fall of 1960, they had been blessed with a son and three daughters.
John began his lifelong career as an educator and pastor at Christian Fellowship Chapel in Coldwater, ON (1954-1957). From there the family moved to Kitchener where John continued his studies at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary. This was followed by a move to Abbotsford, BC to teach at Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute and later serve as Principal (1959-1965). From there John spent a couple years pastoring at Westview M.B. Church in Portage la Prairie, MB (1965-1967) after which the Epps moved to Winnipeg. John taught at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute (1967-1976), then moved into pastoral work at River East M.B. Church (1976-1987) and North Kildonan M.B. Church (1988-1993).
Retirement did not seem to be in John’s vocabulary, so when the invitations came, he continued with part-time pastoral roles at Valley Gardens Community Church (1993-1995), Crossroads (St. Vital) M.B. Church (1995-1997), and McIvor M.B. Church (1999-2004).
In addition to church leadership, John was active on provincial and national Mennonite Brethren Church Boards and committees and for a time served as the interim executive secretary/conference minister for the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.
Although Katie had her own career as a piano teacher, she was by John’s side in each of his pastoral roles. The pair complemented each other in church ministry work – Katie with her musicianship, warm and loving nature, infectious smile and hospitable spirit, and John with his preaching, caring spirit, accepting nature, and fair-mindedness.
With their strong faith in a God who loves all, it was fitting they began their ministry at the multi-denominational Christian Fellowship Chapel in Coldwater and ended their ministry while residing at Kildonan House assisted living facility. Here, during a monthly ecumenical service they found great joy ministering to people from different backgrounds and denominations; John leading worship and Katie accompanying the singing at the piano.
Over his lifetime John made a practice of studying and memorizing Bible verses. These scripture passages brought him great comfort as he pondered and shared them, especially in his later years. He was a lifelong learner and an avid reader. He reread and studied his books, underlining passages that spoke to him and writing notes in the margins.
John was a loving and caring father and grandfather who faithfully followed God to the end of his life.
He will be lovingly remembered by his children, Wendi Hiebert (Murray), Christine Longhurst (John), Loreen Epp, daughter-in-law Connie Epp (Henry Hubert); grandchildren, Jeremy Epp, Karly Epp (Karl Kohut), Becky Longhurst (Carl Trudel), and Dylan Longhurst; and siblings-in-law, Wilf Schaefer (Ann, deceased), Henry and Evelyn Konrad, John Konrad (Irmie, deceased), Esther Isaac (Ernie, deceased), Martha and Harry Janzen, Wanda and Jeral Becker; and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his son Ken Epp in 2014 and his beloved wife Katie in 2020.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 1:30 pm at McIvor Church, 200 McIvor Avenue. The family would appreciate it if masks would be worn.
A private interment will take place prior to the service.
If you wish, donations may be made to Wycliffe Canada, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, or Harvest Manitoba.
Dec. 8, 1926 to July 10, 2022
On July 10th, our dear father and grandfather John passed away peacefully at the age of 95.
John was born in Winnipeg in 1926 to Gerhard and Maria Epp. He had five siblings. When he was 15, his family moved to St. Catharines, Ontario. In 1951, John returned to Winnipeg to study at Mennonite Brethren Bible College. One of the required classes for theology students was a music theory course taught by Katie Konrad, a gifted pianist from La Riviere, MB. When John went home to St. Catharines following graduation, Katie happened to be visiting relatives there. The two reconnected and love sparked on a Ferris wheel date in Toronto.
John and Katie were married in 1954. By the fall of 1960, they had been blessed with a son and three daughters.
John began his lifelong career as an educator and pastor at Christian Fellowship Chapel in Coldwater, ON (1954-1957). From there the family moved to Kitchener where John continued his studies at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary. This was followed by a move to Abbotsford, BC to teach at Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute and later serve as Principal (1959-1965). From there John spent a couple years pastoring at Westview M.B. Church in Portage la Prairie, MB (1965-1967) after which the Epps moved to Winnipeg. John taught at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute (1967-1976), then moved into pastoral work at River East M.B. Church (1976-1987) and North Kildonan M.B. Church (1988-1993).
Retirement did not seem to be in John’s vocabulary, so when the invitations came, he continued with part-time pastoral roles at Valley Gardens Community Church (1993-1995), Crossroads (St. Vital) M.B. Church (1995-1997), and McIvor M.B. Church (1999-2004).
In addition to church leadership, John was active on provincial and national Mennonite Brethren Church Boards and committees and for a time served as the interim executive secretary/conference minister for the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.
Although Katie had her own career as a piano teacher, she was by John’s side in each of his pastoral roles. The pair complemented each other in church ministry work – Katie with her musicianship, warm and loving nature, infectious smile and hospitable spirit, and John with his preaching, caring spirit, accepting nature, and fair-mindedness.
With their strong faith in a God who loves all, it was fitting they began their ministry at the multi-denominational Christian Fellowship Chapel in Coldwater and ended their ministry while residing at Kildonan House assisted living facility. Here, during a monthly ecumenical service they found great joy ministering to people from different backgrounds and denominations; John leading worship and Katie accompanying the singing at the piano.
Over his lifetime John made a practice of studying and memorizing Bible verses. These scripture passages brought him great comfort as he pondered and shared them, especially in his later years. He was a lifelong learner and an avid reader. He reread and studied his books, underlining passages that spoke to him and writing notes in the margins.
John was a loving and caring father and grandfather who faithfully followed God to the end of his life.
He will be lovingly remembered by his children, Wendi Hiebert (Murray), Christine Longhurst (John), Loreen Epp, daughter-in-law Connie Epp (Henry Hubert); grandchildren, Jeremy Epp, Karly Epp (Karl Kohut), Becky Longhurst (Carl Trudel), and Dylan Longhurst; and siblings-in-law, Wilf Schaefer (Ann, deceased), Henry and Evelyn Konrad, John Konrad (Irmie, deceased), Esther Isaac (Ernie, deceased), Martha and Harry Janzen, Wanda and Jeral Becker; and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his son Ken Epp in 2014 and his beloved wife Katie in 2020.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 1:30 pm at McIvor Church, 200 McIvor Avenue. The family would appreciate it if masks would be worn.
A private interment will take place prior to the service.
If you wish, donations may be made to Wycliffe Canada, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, or Harvest Manitoba.