The day of Dad's funeral was beautiful -- not only outside with the weather but inside with the support of family and friends. The following are the words spoken about Dad at the funeral ceremony. Definitely, a life worth celebrating!
TRIBUTE
It is with both sadness and joy that we meet here today. Sadness, of course, because we need to close this chapter of Dad’s life with us but also a deep sense of joy at this time because we know that Dad has left us to be in the presence of God our Heavenly Father! Our father is experiencing ultimate peace and joy with family and friends who lived before him and who shared a faith in Christ. God assures us in His Word that we too, committing ourselves to Christ, will someday see each other in heaven.
Peter Gerhard Dyck touched so many of our lives in so many different ways. He was a devoted husband to our mother Lillian for over 68 years, a father of 3, grandfather of 4, great-grandfather of 5, brother, uncle, church member, businessman and a friend to so many wonderful people whom God placed in his life.
EARLY YEARS
Peter’s life began in the small town of Ohrloff in the Ukraine back on May 14th 1924. Dad was a young brother to his siblings Walter, George, Louise, Mary, Frieda and soon to be an older brother to Marwood after they emigrated to Canada. Here we see Dad at 1.5 years of age as the youngest member of the family sitting next to his parents Louise and Gerhard.
With the onset of WW I and its repercussions, there was considerable strife in all aspects of their lives. Through those times, God provided and enabled many families the ability to endure their difficult circumstances. The miracle was that Dad’s family was able to emigrate out of Russia to Canada.
It was evident that Dad’s family needed to leave Russia, so they packed the little they had and went by wagon to the train station in Lichtenau. From there traveled through Latvia and London then on their way via the SS Minnedosa to eventually arrive in Breslau Ontario where they had family waiting for them; they had emigrated to Canada a couple years prior.
The family’s first order of business was to find a place to settle down and they thought it would be best to join relatives who were already living on Pelee Island. There, they would not only join a small community of relatives and friends who had emigrated to Canada but they could begin share-cropping as a means to support themselves. For the first couple years upon arrival in Canada, Dad’s immediate family lived in West Dock on Pelee Island in Ontario.
Dad’s family then decided to venture to the mainland in Leamington where they continued share-cropping, moving from farm to farm. One of Dad’s earliest memories that he often shared with us involved setting up a fruit and vegetable stand under a tree along Highway 3. He was only seven years old at the time as he sat on the porch, waiting for people to stop and look over his produce. Apparently, Dad did well in his early business ventures, as he recalled people from the local communities and many American visitors from out of province purchasing the produce in season – including cucumbers, tomatoes and corn.
Here’s a great picture of Dad during his school years where he attended a 40-child school house SS No 2 in Leamington. We estimate his age at 10 when he was in grade 5.
Here is our Dad pictured with the family’s first car. Needless to say, Dad always showed an interest in automobiles from an early age! Did we ever know a time when Dad was not behind the wheel when the car was moving? Our Dad recalled Walter, his oldest brother, supervising him at the age of 7 driving the family car around the farm and with the knowing eye of the local Sheriff. Dad often recalled the time he went into town to get a driver’s license as a teenager and the Sheriff smugly replied, “Why do you want a driver’s license? You’ve been driving for years already!”
Well, the years marched on and we have a family photo of Dad’s family in 1934 when Dad was 10 years of age. It would not be too long before Dad and his brothers were called into service for WWII.
By the time Dad was 20, he got his basic and Red Cross training. The war came to an end about a year and a half later. After basic and advanced training, they gave Dad the duty of serving as a steward in the officer’s mess in Peterborough before his discharge, serving meals to all the commissioned officers.
Since Dad was in the army, he was privileged to get vocational training. At this point Dad chose the electrical trade and studied part-time in Kitchener and part-time in London. Dad’s first job out of his training was at Ontario Comstock for six months based in Toronto, then he got a job with Sutherland-Shultz for 20 years. There Dad eventually worked as an electrical-industrial superintendent supervising around 15 to 20 men.
As we all know, the war ended in 1945 and it was time for Dad to return to Kitchener where his family had moved. It was during the year of his return that Dad was baptized on confession of his faith and became a member of the KMB Church on April 15th. Then over the next few years, Dad took special interest in our mother Lillian Fehderau especially on church picnics, choir outings and drives in Dad’s truck!
Not too long after, Mom and Dad got married in 1950 on a beautiful day in September. It’s likely that Mom and Dad’s wedding was one of the last big events at the old KMB Church building on Church Street. Wedding pictures were taken throughout the day at the church and at Rockway Gardens.
LATER YEARS
Well, it didn’t take long for Dad’s new family to start growing. Along came Dianne in August of 1951. This young couple along with their first-born moved in with our Dad’s parents who now owned a home on Betzner Avenue in Kitchener. These were new-beginnings in many ways: Dad and family were the first to occupy the upstairs apartment on Betzner Avenue after Dianne was the first to be born in the new wing of K-W Hospital.
Two years later our parents purchased their first home on Brick Street. Being so close to KMB, it was easy for Mom to go back to playing piano for the choir where Dad also sang. Grandma Fehderau took care of Dianne while Mom and Dad were involved in church up until the time Randy was born in December 1955. Dad sang in the bass section of the choir and Mom continued playing piano for Sunday evening services. In those years our parents visited a lot with relatives and friends in each others’ homes.
Jamie was the third and last child to be born to our parents in April 1962 while they lived on Belleview Avenue, just before moving to Linton Place. Judging from pictures of these early days, it was apparent that Dad enjoyed his role as husband and father. This was evident regardless of the years that passed and where the family resided.
Over the decades that followed, we not only grew with Dad at our side, but he also found his place in supporting the community around him. In retrospect, Dad offered a wonderful example of what it meant to help his church and friends. For instance, Dad was a member of a choir for almost 50 years and helped wire the new church buildings on Ottawa Street in Kitchener. He was also known to be generous in sharing his electrical trade and practical knowledge when friends and family had projects on the go.
As children we shared wonderful times at the cottage. In the late ‘50’s Dad, along with 11 other men from the church, were interested in looking for land up north. Our parents wished for a place where, as a family, we could spend time together and also interact with other families in a Christian community setting. After a period of time of searching different locations Dad and the other men purchased property at Chesley Lake. Birchcrest, which was the name given to the property, was a place where we enjoyed many friendships, Rook games, pie at Chesley Lake Bible Camp, boat rides and sunsets. Birchcrest was definitely one of Dads most favourite places to be.
Dad was a person with insight and vision. Dad established his own business in 1967 and was in business for 25 years. Dad started out with a small shop on Ottawa St just a few blocks from the church and after several years he eventually built a shop in Waterloo. Dad was also an individual who established long-lasting friendships with the people who worked for him and with associates in the business community. Dad’s Christian witness was evident in every facet of how he conducted his business and how he interacted with people on a daily basis. Dad’s legacy will always be that he was a person of integrity and generosity.
Regardless of where his immediate family happened to reside, Dad was always near the phone, ready to find out how life was going for us and lend words of encouragement when most needed!
Dad thoroughly enjoyed being a Grandpa! He looked forward to every occasion where he could be with the grandchildren. Whether the grandchildren were visiting at their home or at the cottage he took great pleasure playing table games, shuffleboard, horseshoes or roasting marshmallows at the campfire, watching a baseball game, even going out for a spin on the golf cart cruising cottage country.
Dad was always interested in catching up on what things were going on in the lives of each of his grandchildren. Even over these last few months he was keeping tabs on what they were doing and encouraging them in their endeavors and offering his support in prayer. Dad’s commitment and love for each one of them was steadfast and enduring. As grandchildren married Grandpa enjoyed visits with each of the grand children and their spouses getting to know them as part of his extended family. Grandpa delighted in his great grand children. He would always enjoy their enthusiasm and energy with each visit.
Most importantly, Mom and Dad shared their faith in Christ with their children while we were living with them during our growing years, and as we established our lives in later years. Dad’s quiet-and-steady faith in God not only shaped his own life in so many wonderful ways but, without a doubt, influenced the lives of those around him. As his children, we knew that Dad held us in his prayers on a daily basis and we will miss that faithful prayerful support now that Dad has moved on.
God has blessed us over the past 95 years with this man, Peter G Dyck. And now our Heavenly Father takes pleasure in having Peter join Him in his new eternal home.
POSTSCRIPT
As I conveyed to my niece after the funeral:
"Both of my parents are giving in their own way and certainly supported each family member in whatever endeavors we believed we needed to follow -- and we know the basis of that understanding and support is their faith in God. I have a history of 'moves and goals' which they seldom challenged. I will always know them as being supportive. Sure, they may not have understood at first, but they always ended up supporting me in whatever way was needed at the time."
I saw this love and support right up to the end with Dad! While it wasn't easy for us to say goodbye at the end of each summer when I needed to go back to Thailand for my job, he always said goodbye with a supportive smile that let me know he understood God had called me half the world away for a purpose. Indeed, that sort of love and understanding is rare and I too will miss my Dad in many regards -- but in that way particularly.
