Joan Doreen Reimer (1930-2011)

On April 6, 2011, Joan Doreen Reimer, nee Frederick, beloved wife of Al Reimer, passed away peacefully at the Grace General Hospital. She was in her 81st year. Joan was born on May 18, 1930 and raised in Pine Falls, Manitoba, the oldest of three siblings, and began her working career there in the office of the Abitibi Paper Mill.

In 1951, Joan married Elmer E (Al) Reimer, who came from Steinbach, Manitoba, and together they raised three children. Joan and Al lived in Toronto and New Haven, Connecticut (where Al pursued graduate studies at Yale), before they settled in Winnipeg. Joan held several accounting and administrative positions during her business career, including several years as general manager of a motel complex.

In the early 1970s, Joan and Al, together with Joan’s sister and her husband, built a cottage at Wanasing Beach, Manitoba, where they spent many long and pleasant summers and weekends with their children, grandchildren and extended family. In 1990, Joan and Al retired and bought a trailer in Mesa Spirit RV Resort in Arizona. They spent the next 20 years relaxing and enjoying the Valley of the Sun . Joan loved warm weather and when the winter season was over in Arizona, she could hardly wait for the summer sun to start at the cottage. Joan was always happiest around people, especially family and friends. She participated in many social activities during her retirement. Joan especially loved to sing and for 20 years anchored the alto section of Canadian Capers, Songbirds and the Mesa Spirit Chapel choir. She liked nothing better than nine holes of golf followed by lunch with her girlfriends. Joan touched the lives of everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her.

Joan is survived by her husband Al; daughter Cynthia (Cindy); son Curt; grandchildren, Jennifer, Lindsay, Mallory, Jamie and Megan; siblings, Irene and Bill. She was predeceased by her son Mark; and her parents, Bill and Wanda Frederick. She will be remembered fondly and dearly missed by all her numerous friends and family members. Special thanks to the staff of the Grace Hospital for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to CancerCare Manitoba.

There will be an ash interment service at Rosenort EMC Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, followed by a Memorial Service at Rosenort Heritage Centre at 2:30 pm.

My Loving Tribute to Joan

Joan was a remarkable person. No one who knew her would ever dispute that. And after living in her dynamic presence for 60 years, I can’t disconnect myself from her even now. At this very moment she is still standing sedately beside me, as she always did in real life. I learned so many things from her complex nature. For example, she was very strong-willed but at the same time very gentle. She loved being with people but never tried to dominate them. She was talkative but never focussed on herself, except of course when she was talking optimistically about her many health problems. She had deep emotions but never allowed them to splatter into shallow sentimentality. She never complained or moped about her many pains in her later years. And no matter how tired or listless she felt, when the phone rang she would answer in her usual robust voice and talk lucidly and at length to this or that of her many friends
Joan and I first met in Pine Falls when I was a desk clerk at the Manitou Lodge and she worked in the office of the Abitibi paper mill. I still remember the day she came to the hotel with her sunny smile and erect bearing and started talking to me as if she had known me for years. I was immediately captivated by this confident, well-dressed young lady and that was the beginning of our courtship: a loving courtship that led to our wedding in 1951.

By the time Cindy and then Mark arrived, I knew that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my working years in a paper mill. Instead, my dream was to attend university and at least become a high school teacher. The trouble was that we had very little money and hardly any savings at all. But as soon as Joan was convinced that I was serious about realizing my dream to go back to school, she started planning in her usual practical manner how to get us there. Without Joan’s incredible help I would never have been able to go to university for seven straight years (four in Winnipeg and three at Yale). She knew exactly how to ease our shortage of financial means by finding part-time work that didn’t interfere with her loving care of Cindy and Mark. And she made every dollar count in full when it came to shopping for food and other essentials.

Joan had a natural flair for business and yearned for a business career. After holding so many temporary jobs, she finally, in middle age, started as a receptionist at the Village Inn Motor Hotel in Westwood and worked her way up to the position of general manager, a position she held and enjoyed until the business was sold to a new owner. Handling financial affairs was as natural for her as breathing, and she took care of my income tax returns all the years we were married.

Sadly, her health began to weaken and in 1990 she had lung cancer surgery. So, with Joan’s future not looking good at the time I decided to take an early retirement. But the surgery was successful  (Joan called it “ a piece of cake”), and so we purchased a trailer in Mesa, Arizona and spent 20 winters fighting off that fierce Arizona sun. Living in an RV resort was like living in a bustling town of seniors. So this was exactly the relaxed social environment that Joan revelled in. We both sang in two choirs and she kept busy with endless social activities. I still believe that those many winters in the warm, friendly desert prolonged Joan’s life beyond anything else. She also enjoyed the many summers we spent at our cottage at Wanasing Beach.

Throughout her life, Joan maintained her love of life and people and literally followed the well-known teaching in Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.”

Joan, may your rest in peace, but continue to energize our memories of your profound influence on our lives—the lives of your husband and family and your many, many friends.

Your loving husband Al