Obituary for Mildred P Harms (Reimer)
Obituary of Mildred Harms
August 30, 1945- June 30, 2020
On June 30, 2020 at the age of 74, our dear wife, mom, grandmother and great-grandmother passed away peacefully at the Gimli Hospital, and entered her eternal home in heaven.
Mildred was the firstborn of Henry and Tina Reimer. She was born in the Steinbach Hospital on August 30, 1945 and spent her early childhood years in Blumenort. In the early 1950’s her family moved to Mexico to start farming in a Mennonite colony. After a few years in Mexico, the family moved back to Blumenort. Then in 1959, the family moved to Mennville to join the newly founded farming community. At the age of 14 she was baptized in the Mennville EMC Church upon putting her trust in Jesus Christ for her life here and the life to come.
Her interest in nursing led her to move to Gimli at the age of 19 to work in the hospital as a nurses’ aid. She very much enjoyed her job there and often talked about those days even until a few weeks ago - wishing she could be in the hospital working as a nurse instead of as a patient.
On May 6, 1967, after 2 years of dating, her and Paul Harms were married. They started their married life in Mennville but Paul’s work in construction and logging took them to a variety of communities across Manitoba and Saskatchewan during their first years of marriage. Mom was responsible for providing meals for the crews often working in primitive conditions such as the absence of running water and electricity.
After longing to start their own family, they finally got the call in March 1972 that Kim could be adopted into their family. In 1975, they got another call that they could adopt Kendon. Although they had a house in Mennville, they continued to travel around to job sites until Kim was old enough to start school. At this time they took over the Harms’ family farm and started a construction business with Paul’s brother Ed. In 1982, Karyn joined the family as the last of their three children.
Mildred enjoyed the country life; raising chickens, cattle, gardening, and working in the fields. Throughout their years in Mennville, she was very active in volunteering with the Church - teaching Sunday school, helping with Daily Vacation Bible School during the summers, and cooking at Beaver Creek Bible Camp. In her later years she was an active member in the Church’s Sewing Circle - sewing blankets to sell in the Riverton Thrift Store. The money raised was donated to the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Additionally, Mildred contributed to many MCC initiatives which saw hundreds of blankets shipped to refugee camps around the world.
Mildred also spent many thousands of hours volunteering with the Thrift Store; sorting, stocking shelves, clerking, bookkeeping and working on the board. She loved the opportunity to repurpose the items that were donated as well as interacting with the other volunteers and customers.
Mildred will be remembered for her servant heart, her unwavering trust in God’s plan and care for her family. She was always ready to welcome people into her home and cook a good hearty meal for them regardless if they were strangers, family or friends. Her deep faith in God and incredible strength and optimism during the past 15 months since her cancer diagnosis, have spoken loudly to all she came in contact with.
Left to mourn her loss are her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents Henry and Tina Reimer, her parents-in-law Pete and Neta Harms, her sisters Doris and Leona, her brother Harold, her brother-in-law Leonard, and her sister-in-law Doris.
We would like to thank our friends and church community for the support and encouragement they have shown us as a family during this journey. We would also like to thank the homecare staff and the staff at the Gimli Hospital for providing excellent care for our mother. Thank you to Friends Funeral Service for making the funeral arrangements.
August 30, 1945- June 30, 2020
On June 30, 2020 at the age of 74, our dear wife, mom, grandmother and great-grandmother passed away peacefully at the Gimli Hospital, and entered her eternal home in heaven.
Mildred was the firstborn of Henry and Tina Reimer. She was born in the Steinbach Hospital on August 30, 1945 and spent her early childhood years in Blumenort. In the early 1950’s her family moved to Mexico to start farming in a Mennonite colony. After a few years in Mexico, the family moved back to Blumenort. Then in 1959, the family moved to Mennville to join the newly founded farming community. At the age of 14 she was baptized in the Mennville EMC Church upon putting her trust in Jesus Christ for her life here and the life to come.
Her interest in nursing led her to move to Gimli at the age of 19 to work in the hospital as a nurses’ aid. She very much enjoyed her job there and often talked about those days even until a few weeks ago - wishing she could be in the hospital working as a nurse instead of as a patient.
On May 6, 1967, after 2 years of dating, her and Paul Harms were married. They started their married life in Mennville but Paul’s work in construction and logging took them to a variety of communities across Manitoba and Saskatchewan during their first years of marriage. Mom was responsible for providing meals for the crews often working in primitive conditions such as the absence of running water and electricity.
After longing to start their own family, they finally got the call in March 1972 that Kim could be adopted into their family. In 1975, they got another call that they could adopt Kendon. Although they had a house in Mennville, they continued to travel around to job sites until Kim was old enough to start school. At this time they took over the Harms’ family farm and started a construction business with Paul’s brother Ed. In 1982, Karyn joined the family as the last of their three children.
Mildred enjoyed the country life; raising chickens, cattle, gardening, and working in the fields. Throughout their years in Mennville, she was very active in volunteering with the Church - teaching Sunday school, helping with Daily Vacation Bible School during the summers, and cooking at Beaver Creek Bible Camp. In her later years she was an active member in the Church’s Sewing Circle - sewing blankets to sell in the Riverton Thrift Store. The money raised was donated to the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Additionally, Mildred contributed to many MCC initiatives which saw hundreds of blankets shipped to refugee camps around the world.
Mildred also spent many thousands of hours volunteering with the Thrift Store; sorting, stocking shelves, clerking, bookkeeping and working on the board. She loved the opportunity to repurpose the items that were donated as well as interacting with the other volunteers and customers.
Mildred will be remembered for her servant heart, her unwavering trust in God’s plan and care for her family. She was always ready to welcome people into her home and cook a good hearty meal for them regardless if they were strangers, family or friends. Her deep faith in God and incredible strength and optimism during the past 15 months since her cancer diagnosis, have spoken loudly to all she came in contact with.
Left to mourn her loss are her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents Henry and Tina Reimer, her parents-in-law Pete and Neta Harms, her sisters Doris and Leona, her brother Harold, her brother-in-law Leonard, and her sister-in-law Doris.
We would like to thank our friends and church community for the support and encouragement they have shown us as a family during this journey. We would also like to thank the homecare staff and the staff at the Gimli Hospital for providing excellent care for our mother. Thank you to Friends Funeral Service for making the funeral arrangements.