Biographical Sketch

Gerhard H. Sukkau was born on September 29, 1903, in Terek, South Russia, where he spent his childhood years. His parents were Heinrich Sukkau and Anna Martens Sukkau. In 1910, the Sukkau family moved to Waldheim, Molotschna, where Sukkau received five years of elementary education. During World War I, when Sukkau’s father was called into service, the rest of the family moved to Rueckenau where both sets of grandparents lived. Here Sukkau finished elementary school and attended high school. In 1920, Sukkau was baptized and received into the Rueckenau Mennonite Brethren Church.

In 1924, he married Lena Janzen; they had one daughter, Irma. In the same year, they immigrated to Markham, Ontario. In March 1925, they settled in Arnaud, Manitoba, where Sukkau farmed and attended Winkler Bible School. He was ordained to the ministry in 1937. In 1939, the family moved to Yarrow, British Columbia, where Sukkau taught at the Elim Bible School from 1939–1944 and later again from 1949–1952. He also was the leader of the B.C. Mennonite Brethren children’s mission for four years. Between 1945 and 1948, he attended Tabor College, obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Theology. From 1952 to 1959, Sukkau served under the Mennonite Brethren Board of General Welfare in Bible Schools in Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay as teacher, evangelist, and Conference executive.

In 1959, Sukkau returned to Winnipeg where he became treasurer for the executive of the Canadian Mennonite Brethren Conference. He was a committee member of Mennonite Central Committee (Canada) and of the Mennonite Brethren General Welfare Board, an associate minister in the Elmwood Mennonite Brethren Church, a Sunday School teacher, and an active worker in various church committees. Sukkau died on January 31, 1965.