HELMUT SCHROEDER

Peacefully, on December 13th, surrounded by family, Helmut left us to go and find his beloved Maxine for another dance. He had packed a lot of living into ninety-four years and six months.

Our dad, Helmut Edmund Schroeder, was born on June 12th, 1929, in Edmonton, Alberta, to Albertina and Edmund Schroeder. Helmut was the middle child with an older sister, Jean, and a younger sister, Marlene. He started school in Saskatchewan but spent most of his formative years in Rossendale Manitoba, where his parents had purchased a farm. There he met the love of his life, Maxine Rintoul, and in 1951 they were married. Helmut and Maxine were married for sixty-eight years and raised five children together.

Helmut and Maxine farmed for most of their lives on 720 acres of land near Rossendale, growing grain and raising cows, pigs, chickens, and horses. Helmut also drove the school bus for many years. Dad was very community minded and spend many years taking care of the rinks in Rossendale so that others could skate and curl.

Like most farmers of his day, Helmut was a welder, a mechanic, a carpenter or whatever it took to get the job done. He had many creative and sometimes unorthodox solutions to the problems he faced and loved to tinker and find out how things worked. We often thought that in another life he might have been a mechanical engineer.

Dad had a passion for sports and was heavily involved in them throughout his life. He played competitive softball until he was 75. He started curling at Rossendale when he was twelve and continued skipping rinks until he was 77 and was a member of many winning teams in both sports.  He would often recall, in great detail and a chuckle, those narrow wins, the 8 ender and many home runs. Later in life, he took up golf and became an avid golfer. Helmut was a fierce competitor and always tried his hardest, whether it was golf, curling, baseball, pool, or simply a lively game of crokinole with his family.

Helmut was also an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. Many times, when farming would allow it, he would pack up the family and they would travel to northern lakes where they would camp and see what they could catch.

He loved music and though he had no formal training, he had an ear for it. Helmut taught himself to play the fiddle and would often serenade Maxine with favorite songs like “Five Foot Two”. Helmut and Maxine loved to dance together and if they weren’t working on the farm, they often travelled to one of the “Old Time” dances that were held in various community halls around Portage La Prairie, to effortlessly glide across the floor.   All his girls learned how to dance in the kitchen, by standing on dad’s feet as he moved to the music coming from the radio.

Helmut had a good sense of humor, loved jokes and was a consummate storyteller. After breakfast was done, we loved to sit and listen to him reminisce about his youth growing up in Rossendale. Sometimes the stories were about hardship or helping his mom and dad on the farm, but often he would regale us with the crazy antics that he and his friends had gotten into, or memorable moments from his sports life.

Helmut is survived by his sister Marlene Wilson, his son Larry (Leona), and daughters Kathy (Keith), Gaylene (Richard), Penny (Dean) and Bonnie, plus many grandchildren and great grandchildren. A family remembrance service will be held at a later date.

The family would like to thank the staff at the Sturgeon Creek Retirement Residence, the Riverview Health Center and the Tuxedo Park Villa care home for the care and comfort that they provided to Helmut in his final years.

Helmut's family kindly requests that all of his friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour his memory by watching the photo-biography above. Please, also consider sharing your own photos, memories, and stories by making use of the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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