Guenther Schwichtenberg passed away unexpectedly on August 22, 2005, following a hard-fought battle with a brief but catastrophic illness.
His family was at his bedside, and would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to the staff at the Chilliwack General ICU.
He is predeceased by two older brothers, Hans-Gert and Wolfgang, and his eldest daughter, Karin. He will be sorely missed by his wife Marianne, his sisters Hannelore and Isa-Marie, his children Holger, Detmar and Kerstin, his daughters-in-law Catherine (nee Sparkes) and Jennifer (nee Wilson) and his grandsons Alex, Philip, Mark and Tomas.
Guenther was born in 1928 in East Prussia and attended school in Elbing. After fleeing with his family from the Russian forces, he then volunteered for service in the German army in the
last months of the Second World War, at the age of 16. These events would have a profound impact on his life.
After the war his family moved to West Germany, where he studied agriculture and then apprenticed on a large mixed farm in Westphalia, where he met and courted, with his usual determination, his beloved wife Marianne.
They married in 1957 and immigrated to Canada, where they saved every penny to buy 112 acres of land and the rundown house known as the Old Agassiz Place, which has been their home since Christmas 1959.
In addition to building a successful dairy farm and raising a family, supported as always by Marianne, Guenther spent countless hours serving his community. His contributions included serving as a volunteer recreation director, three terms on Kent council and one term as mayor. He was also a delegate for Dairyworld Food. As a charter member of the Harrison Rotary Club, he was instrumental in bringing a refugee family from Vietnam to Agassiz and helping them get established; another project involved work with a school for the blind in India.
Guenther was a man with a vision: sustainable agriculture, the environment, and strong community planning were subjects he cared deeply about and he worked tirelessly to achieve at least some of his goals. In all he tried to accomplish he never sacrificed his commitment to honesty, fairness and integrity.
Guenther lived his life with passion and intensity. He deeply loved his family, and was always there to encourage and help. His grandchildren were a great source of enjoyment for him — he was a wonderful grandfather. He will be sadly missed by all of us, and not least by his two German shepherds and the family Dachshunds that accompanied him to work and on his walks
Our family would be honoured by your presence at his memorial service on Thursday, September 1st at 3 p.m., at Holberg Farm, 1632 Agassiz Avenue.