HEINRICHS, Verna Joyce
July 22, 1937 — December 17, 2021
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Verna Heinrichs, 84, on December 17, 2021. However, we are happy that she is now with her LORD, whom she loved and served. She passed away peacefully with her husband and many of her children at her side. She leaves to mourn her husband, John, to whom she was married for 62 years; her children: Garry (Darlene), Eldon (Verda), Glen (Barb), Joan (Erik), Carolyn (Terry), Brian (Jaclyn), Diane (Karl), and Kevin (Terri); 21 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren; her brother Art (her only surviving sibling); and many cousins, in-laws, and friends. She was predeceased by her parents, Peter and Agatha Friesen, three brothers and two sisters, as well as many close friends. She will be greatly missed.
Verna was born in Saskatoon, and was raised on a dairy farm near Hepburn, SK. She attended a one room country school at Newhome, SK and High School in Hepburn. After high school, she attended Bethany College where she met her future husband, John.
Verna and John were married in the Hepburn M.B. church in 1959. After a brief stay in Saskatoon, SK, they moved to Winnipeg, MB, where she worked at Ogilvie Flour Mills while John attended College and University – after which he started his teaching career. In 1970, John and Verna and their seven children moved to Manitou, MB where John taught High School and Verna stayed at home with the children – one more being added in Manitou. Verna was a stay-at-home mom, raising eight children, and when they were grown, she took a healthcare aide course and worked in a care home for 15 years. She was loved by those she served.
Every summer Verna would grow a huge and beautiful flower garden – enjoying the compliments of passers-by.
In 2017, John and Verna moved to Kelowna, BC, downsizing from a huge, heritage house in Manitou to a 2-bedroom apartment in Kelowna. They soon had many new friends and enjoyed an active social life. She especially liked sewing blankets for MCC with her “sewing club” at the Willow Park Church.
Verna was bubbly and joyful; she was a people-person with an infectious laugh and a trusting smile. Her college yearbook described her as being full of “vim, vigor, and vitality, with a grade A personality”. She loved talking to people – personally; it was never enough to just post a “like” online – she needed to hear their voice. She made friends easily and had a way of bringing out the best in people.
Memorial donations may be sent to MCC Canada, mcccanada.ca.
A Celebration of Life will be on January 14, 2022, at 1:00 pm, at Springfield Funeral Home, 2020 Springfield Road, Kelowna, BC, with Reverend Levi Simpson officiating. Unvaccinated friends and family are welcome to attend, masks will be mandatory.
If you are unable to attend in person, please join the family online by Livestream (see below), a recording will be made available to view shortly thereafter.
If you wish to send a condolence, post photos, or share a memory, please scroll down the page to the area called “Condolences”.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of HEINRICHS Verna Joyce July 22 1937 — December 17 2021..
Death notice for the town of: Kelowna, Province: Colombie britanique
My memories of Verna go way back. I was honoured to be in her cabin at Redberry Bible Camp as a child. I remember thinking how lucky I was to get into her cabin. She certainly was full of energy and joy! My sympathies go to the family.