Biographical Sketch

Henry S. Rempel, son of Henry and Margaretha Schlabach Rempel, was born on November 27, 1882 in Waldheim, South Russia. His family emigrated to Canada in 1886, settling in what is now Kleefeld, Manitoba. At nineteen he accepted Christ as his personal Saviour. Rempel’s father was a teacher and Rempel received his elementary education from him. H.S. Rempel was married to Maria Hiebert, daughter to Reverend David Hiebert, in 1902; the couple had six children. They farmed at Watrous, Saskatchewan, and then moved to Gretna, Manitoba where Rempel took teacher’s education. He taught for ten years.

In 1912 Rempel was ordained by the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church but in 1924, when the family moved to Winkler Manitoba, they joined the Mennonite Brethren Church. After moving to Winnipeg, he served as assistant to C.N. Hiebert at the Winnipeg City Mission, a position he held for six years. His wife died in April, 1930. Two years later Rempel married Anna Neufeld of Winnipeg. In 1935 the Rempels moved to Saskatoon, where Rempel spent 34 years as a city missionary and an itinerant minister. He also was the leader of the Saskatoon Mennonite Brethren Church for some years. In 1969 he and his wife retired and moved to Steinbach, Manitoba. In 1973, at the age of 91, Rempel presented a series of messages at Resthaven in Steinbach. In 1974, the Rempels came to Winnipeg to live in Donwood Manor. H.S. Rempel died in Winnipeg on July 6, 1979.