Obituary
Ed was born to Peter and Victoria Chipeur on May 31, 1933 in Wishart, Saskatchewan. He grew up on a farm near Kelliher, Saskatchewan. It was the farm his grandfather had homesteaded in 1900, after moving from the Polish community in Wilno, Ontario. Ed’s great-great-grandfather Michael Szczypior had led the first Polish immigrants to establish Wilno in Upper Canada in 1857.
Ed attended college for two years at what is now Burman University, in Lacombe Alberta. He continued his education at Walla Walla College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. He also secured a teaching license and immediately began teaching biology, physics, chemistry and math. Each summer, he continued his education in the study of biology and animal behaviour. His studies took him throughout the western United States, including Los Cruces, New Mexico, Long Beach, California, Seattle and Anacortes, Washington and Fargo, North Dakota.
Wanda was the love of his life. He met her at the Fountain Restaurant in College Place, Washington, while attending Walla Walla College. Wanda was completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the time. They were married on August 23, 1959 in Olympia, Washington. Their children, Gerald, Rebecca and Mark, were born in Washington state.
In 1966, the family moved from Bellingham, Washington to Sheyenne River Academy in North Dakota, where Ed taught math and sciences. 1969 saw Ed take on the same responsibilities at the Adventist Academy in Sacramento, California.
In 1973, the family moved from California to Saskatchewan, where Ed took over the family farm operation from his father. Ed retired from farming in 1987 and moved with Wanda to Abbotsford, British Columbia.
His retirement was anything but retiring. He was active over his last thirty years pursuing three areas of great importance to him: teaching, selling Christian books and growing and marketing garlic.
Ed spent as much of his life outdoors as possible. His honeymoon with Wanda consisted of a camping trip to the Olympic Mountains in the north west corner of Washington. His first year of marriage included time living at the top of a forest fire tower on Sauk Mountain. Family vacations always focussed on mountains, wilderness, lakes, streams, hiking and fishing. His last vacation, in July of 2021, involved a week on a fishing boat off the north coast of Haida Gwaii, where he caught his limit of salmon, halibut, lingcod and rockfish.
His legacy includes his children Gerald (Barbara), Rebecca Davidson (Everett), and Mark (Mishka); his grandchildren Stephanie, Lauren, William, and Amy; and his great- grandchildren Alec, Dallas, Kaiden, Madison, and Jordyn.
His legacy also includes all of the students he taught and mentored over the last 64 years and those he impacted through his Christian literature ministry during that time.
His last home was Lacombe, Alberta, near his place of worship, the Bentley Seventh-day Adventist Church and his alma mater, Burman University. His legacy will continue to impact students through the Burman University Plant Sciences Laboratory established in honour of Ed and Wanda. The Lab will facilitate the study of botany.
Seventy years after first arriving on the Hilltop to attend college, Ed passed to his rest on September 26, 2021 at the age of 88, with Wanda at his side.
A Funeral Service to celebrate Ed’s life will be held at the College Heights Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lacombe at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 12, 2021. A live-stream link will be available below closer to the service date.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ed Chipeur, please visit our floral store.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Ed Chipeur May 31 1933 September 26 2021 (age 88)..
Décès pour la Ville: Wetaskiwin, Province: Alberta