Abe Suderman

Abe F. Suderman

Abe F. Suderman passed away peacefully at Portage District General Hospital on Friday, March 21, 2014.   Abe was born on August 30, 1934 in New Hoffingsort, Manitoba.  He was predeceased by his parents Abraham & Katherina Suderman, sisters Irene & Judy, son Carl B. Suderman, grandson Davyd J. Suderman, brothers-in-law Herb Rach & Albert Penner.

Left to mourn his passing are his wife Faye Suderman (nee Porte) of 59 years & 6 months, four daughters Gladys (James Miller), Pat, Debra (Ernest Gregory), & Roxanne (Fred St. Goddard), daughter-in-law Suszan Suderman, eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

Abe went to school in Kane, MB until he had to quit to help on the farm.  In 1954 he married Faye Porte of Plum Coulee, MB and they had 5 wonderful children.  He was saved one summer when he attended Sunday School Bible Camp at Gimli after learning 300 Bible verses by memory to attend.  He enjoyed 3 summers at camp and often related stories of those times to me.  We were baptized in the Bergthaler Church in Kane.  When we moved to Rossendale, we held Sunday School in Lavenham Church for a time. Later we joined the MacGregor Mennonite Church.

Abe tried many endeavors in order to provide for his family.  After 2 years, when Carl started school, I refused to live in Steinbach alone with the children.  Abe then bought a half section of land in Kane.  He hauled pulp wood from Rabbit Point to Pine Falls to make a little extra.  He also hauled wood from Barrows to Winnipeg for Dyck’s Construction.  We moved to Rossendale in 1970 to grow potatoes for Carnation Foods with his father.  After he bought his parents out and they moved to Carmen, he ran the farm with his son Carl and expanded it to include McCain Foods and the table market.  After Abe’s first massive heart attack, he sold the farm and we moved to Portage la Prairie under the advice of his doctors.  Thank the Lord we had a big backyard, so he could grow a few vegetables and potatoes to keep us fed from August to April.

“We mourn not as those without hope, for we know we will see him again.”

Celebration of Life will be held in the Portage Evangelical Church, 3 ^rd Street NE, Portage la Prairie, on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at 1:30 pm with viewing prior to the service.  Interment is to follow at Hillside Cemetery.

As expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Abe’s memory to the International Fellowship of Christian & Jews of Canada. P.O. Box 670, Station K, Toronto, ON  M4P 2H1, info@ifcj.ca or to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba – Portage Office, 103 Wilkinson Crescent, Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 1A7

A tree will be planted in memory and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel.  204-857-4021 www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com