On June 4, 2020, Anneliese (Anne) Reimer passed away at the age of 59. Cancer ended
her life, but it did not beat her. We will continue to love and remember Anne for her tenacity,
charisma, generosity, quirky sense of humor, and love for her family and friends.
Anne will be greatly missed by her family: John Kliewer and Pam Salzburger, Rosemarie
and Henry Martens, Martha and Jonathan Erikson, Heinz and Marlene Reimer, and the many
nieces and nephews she was so proud of who knew her as “Tante Annie”. She was predeceased
by her parents John and Maria Reimer and sister Susie Reimer.
Anne was born in the Paraguayan Chaco in August 1960. She moved to Canada with her
family in 1961 and spent the rest of her life in Manitoba. Anne was a natural teacher and received her Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Winnipeg in 1983 and a Master’s of Education from the University of Manitoba in 2005. Her first teaching job was in the Rolling River School Division in Brandon, MB, where she accepted a mathematics position. Anne taught in Landmark Collegiate for the majority of her career. Her final teaching years were spent in math and science curriculum development and support for the Hanover School Division until she retired. Anne cherished her time in Landmark and in the Hanover School Division where her colleagues were friends and her students were her peers in the journey to continually learn and be challenged.
As her career evolved, Anne became a teacher who actively engaged with her students.
She taught by providing a means for students to self-discover and critically evaluate topics for
themselves. She saw herself as a co-learner alongside her students, adapting and revising her
teaching style as students and classrooms changed. Anne recognized that her students had
valuable opinions that could positively influence the way in which they were taught. She
advocated for student voices to be heard, and wrote her Master’s thesis on the topic. She was
known as a teacher who inspired those around her, students and colleagues alike.
Anne was one of those rare people for whom you could always drop in unannounced and
she would welcome you inside with a big smile and an even bigger hug. She valued good company and conversation, and if good food was also involved, all the better. Anne was adventurous and traveled the world to visit the people she cared about. She was generous with her time, helping friends and family whenever asked. Her easy-going personality made people comfortable around her, and she showed genuine interest in getting to know people for who they were.
Being a nerd isn’t an anomaly in the Reimer family, and Anne embraced the term as a
compliment. She transformed knitting patterns into elaborate formulized spreadsheets, and
quilting patterns broke down into fun geometry problems. On March 14, she would dust off her
international pi day pie plate and invite you over for an irrational celebration with a slice of pie.
She made ‘stoichwiches’ with her chemistry students to help explain the concept of
stoichiometry by making a perfectly balanced sandwich (but only if you had the correct
proportion of ingredients on hand). Her love of teaching was further evident as she actively
engaged the minds of the whole family, especially her nieces, nephews and their children. She
continually challenged them to experiment, create and ask questions.
Anne was an avid knitter and quilter. She was often found on her front porch knitting a
pair of intricate socks while listening to an audiobook. She enjoyed the company of her quilt
group, knitting group and book clubs over the years. Anne bought a long-arm quilting machine
several years ago, and with all the squiggles and loops that go into finishing every quilt, Anne
claimed she learned how to dance. Her joy and laughter will now be remembered in the stitches of all the quilts that are found in the homes of her friends and family members.
It feels inadequate to condense Anne’s life into so few words, but anyone who knew Anne
knows that she had a big heart, a warm personality, and that she was so much more than the
sum of these words.
A memorial service will be held at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in support of the Youth BIOlab Jeunesse, St Boniface Hospital Foundation, C1026-409 Tache Ave, Winnipeg MB R2H 2A6, stbhf.ca/en/donate/
Alternatively, donations in support of the building of schools and teacher training in Latin America can be made to Generation Rising, genrising.org
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Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Anneliese Reimer Thursday June 4th 2020..
Décès pour la Ville: Winnipeg, Province: Manitoba