Thursday, April 14

We have had many requests for copies of the Tributes that were presented at the Celebration of Life service for dad. We thought we would post them here to accomodate these requests. (Please see the blogs below this one).

Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers and support during the extremely difficult time for us as a family.


Colleen....for mom, Grant and Astrida.

Obituary - Colleen Heinrichs, Daughter

As I sat down to write an obit for dad the problem wasn’t a lack of material, the problem is what do I leave out.

As I humbly stand before many prolific writers today, I speak from the heart as the daughter of a humble  engineer, who was very practical and down to earth.

Dad was born on Monday, July 5, 1943 to John and Helen Hoeppner in Altona, Manitoba.

Dad accepted Jesus as his Savior as an early teen and was baptized a short time later.  He claimed John 5:24 as his verse.

John 5:24 (New Living Translation)       “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life”.

At an early age dad entered the radio-broadcasting field by pursuing his hobby of electronics.  A local radio station started in his hometown of Altona, where his dad had the heating and plumbing contract while the radio station was under construction.  This gave dad the first-hand opportunity to see a radio station start from the “ground up”.  Quickly dad recognized that the field of electronics was an ever developing science and that, for him to succeed, he would need specialized training.

Following high school in 1962 dad did a short study period at Mennonite Brethren Bible College.  I am very thankful that dad did this short educational stop. It is while at MBBC that Dad met Marilyn Zacharias and they started dating.  Dad moved west from Winnipeg to Calgary to attend SAIT and to take electronic studies, he continued to date mom long distance.

Dad and mom were married on September 11, 1965 (45 years ago this last September).  With a new bride he was offered his first opportunity to strike out on his own when he received an invitation to design and construct a new 10,000 watt AM radio station in Melfort, Saskatchewen.  From this time and onward the radio bug captured his activities.

After their experience in Melfort dad returned to Winnipeg to work at the then named CFRW station and worked alongside legends such as Jack Blick.

On Monday, November 27^th, 1967  mom and dad completed what dad always referred to as their “Centennial Project”.  Dad and mom welcomed their son Grant into the world.  And try as they might mom and dad still to this day deny that they named him after Bud Grant who was the recently departed skillful coach of the Bombers.

 The studies at the Bible college had planted the thought of missionary radio with dad and mom.  In 1969 dad and mom headed to the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, where dad cut his teeth on high power medium wave (AM) and shortwave transmitters with Trans World Radio.  At this point this obit could get completed pre-emitted by way to many entertaining stories of dad and mom’s time on Bonaire.  From catching a flamingo by the neck and walking it down the road; to playing soccer games against the Dutch National Military - complete with a description of the scars dad still has on his shins from falling on the coral rock.

This opportunity opened the door for many other radio engineering duties in a variety of countries yet to come.  TWR asked mom and dad to be their first missionary couple in Swaziland, Africa and so in 1971 mom and dad moved to Swaziland, Africa.  On April 28, 1971 mom and dad completed what dad would always refer to as his “million dollar family” and I completed and blessed the family with my presence. J

After a short stint in Swaziland dad and mom moved to Johannesburg, South Africa.   Dad, mom and kids in tow returned to Canada about 2 years later, specifically Altona where dad began working at Radio Southern Manitoba, now Golden West Broadcasting.  Dad began a separate division Golden West Media Consultants which afforded him the opportunity to travel to many additional and different countries to work on radio projects including but not limited to Paraguay, Honduras, Dominica, Antigua, Bolivia and a pirate radio ship off the coast of Tel Aviv.  Yes, once again this obit could be side tracked with many stories of intrigue in each one of these countries.  Dad left a significant foot print in each one of the countries he entered, not just in a physical new building, complete with the then state of the art radio equipment but each step of the way dad ensured he was mentoring new engineers and radio staff.  Mentoring was dad’s passion and focus.  I am sure there are a few in this room that if you looked in their left dress shirt pocket would find a little yellow screwdriver because of dad.  Dad always had a yellow screwdriver in his left dress shirt pocket and thought everyone else should too.   These yellow screwdrivers got dad into trouble after 9/11….there are many airport security screener across North America who dad “donated” a yellow screwdriver to.    Leaving the house without his yellow screwdriver was unheard of….and yes, today dad still has a yellow screwdriver in his left dress pocket. 

In 1996 dad joined the engineer department at CJOB in Winnipeg.  Being employed at the number one talk, news, sports radio station in Winnipeg allowed dad to work with new broadcast technologies that were in high demand.  With this experience dad felt comfortable to launch out with another venture so that local and international broadcasters could have the opportunity to use his expertise.  This resulted in the formation of Spectrum Engineering Services a division of CJOB.

Dad served on many numerous boards as chair, secretary and board member to broaden his scope on life and interaction with people of all ages.  These boards are far too many to recount and honestly dad was to humble to have them all listed in a row.  

Dad held many titles in his life.  On January 16^th, 2002 dad achieved the title he was most proud of – Grandpa.  It is quite amazing to me how 7lbs can make a strong, grown man drop everything.  Dad was so proud of Kendra and was quite determined that she have the mind of an engineer.  Dad spent many a Saturday driving that gator around the ‘OB transmitter site teaching Kendra about RF and exciters.

On July 20^th, 2003, 18 months after Kendra was born dad popped another button and granddaughter Mackenzie was born.  Dad and Mackenzie had a very special bond and just very recently had built a motor together (it is on the back table). 

Dad was the only one who could call Kendra – Kendrasha and Mackenzie - Maki….those were his girls and the English language now fails me to properly express his love for them.

Dad had three great loves and could easily amalgamate all three of them into his everyday living like no one else I know.  A couple years ago I witnessed an event with my dad that I have thought lots about this past week.  Kendra and Mackenzie were having a sleep over at my dad and mom’s place, a common occurrence.  The girls disappeared with my dad but before I left I went to say goodbye and found all three snuggled very closely together, with dad’s arms around both of the girls, reading his Bible to them.  Dad was reading the story from Luke 5:1 which goes like this “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left by fishermen…..He got into one of the boats, and asked Simon to push out a little from shore.  Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat” .  To this day I have NO idea which version of the Bible dad was reading from, because although that is the story in the version of my Bible his story went like “…..He got into one of the boats, and asked Simon to push out a little from shore.  Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat because Jesus knew sound waves travel farther and better on water and the people could hear him better, thus creating the fist microphone”.    I bugged and mocked dad about that for years.  His reply “What?  It’s true”.  I know for a fact that was not the first or last time or the only Bible story that was amended by Dad.

 In 2003 dad was asked to be the National Director of Engineer, CORUS Radio.  Dad continued his pleasure of introducing young people into the exciting field of radio broadcasting technology, which now also embraces computer technology.  The ever-changing technology was a challenge to dad to find innovative ways of making jobs easier for himself and those with whom he enjoyed working so much.  

Dad LOVED working for CORUS and considered many of its employees as extended family members.  Many of the staff dad worked with I have never met, but I feel like you are my family.  Over the past week I have heard or seen the phrase “you don’t know me, but I work with your dad”.  For every single one I can say….you know you are right, I don’t know you but I sure do know a lot about you. 

Dad loved the challenges that came across his desk while working for Corus and was never one to back down from a challenge.  One of the first challenges dad had was an assignment that was given to him to take inventory of all the engineering equipment when Corus took over from WIC.  When I asked dad where he was going to start he replied with “well, I guess I will start with - 1 CN tower”…not that they own the CN tower but that is how dad took on the challenge not overwhelmed, just systematically.  Dad’s challenges at CORUS also included the 1997 flood of the century.  Dad and the rest of the ‘OB engineers fought like crazy to keep the ‘OB transmitter, located close to Glenlea, on the air.  Dad even managed to get the receptionist, on-air staff, copy writers, top managers and even sales people to the transmitter site to sandbag.  Eventually the fight was lost, but dad had by then flown in a transmitter from upstate New York and kept ‘OB operational in a time the city and province essentially needed the number one “information radio station”.  The latest challenge was helping to build the new radio studios for CJOB at Polo Park.  A project dad wanted to do his best at because he wanted the employees here in Winnipeg to have the best.  Tomorrow is the grand opening for those studios, I think he was very proud of how they turned out.  He also often laughed that after all his years in radio this was the first time he had a window in his office.

I could go on and on and tell you stories about:

    ·         How dad taught me to hitch hike - in the Caribbean – sorry mom not sure if you knew about that one.

  ·              How dad resorted to Low German when he was upset or ticked at someone – “Dosent mol einte” he would say, which loosely translated means “1000x1”.  You go dad….that’s really telling them.  J

·         How dad paid a busker in TO last year to teach him how to moon dance…he obviously did not pay the busker nearly enough.

·         How dad taught me to climb and paint towers  – because every good girl needs to know how to climb towers.

·         How he called Wayne Gretzky =  Wayne Goertzen and Martha Stewart = Marta Sawatzky

·         How dad took mom to the transmitter site every Friday for a date….yes, even up to 2 weeks ago.

·         How dad, mom and I backpacked across Europe…Believe me Europe has never the same after that

·         How dad LOVED desserts….you always looked at the dessert menu first, which determined the size of your supper portion

·         How dad really got nervous when people greeted him at the airport –more than once dad got into trouble because of “hi Jack”.

·         How dad was terrified of water

·         How he loved country music

·         How dad loved bald eagles and his love for canoeing.

Dad had many great qualities.  I hope to be half the parent he was to me.  Dad was not perfect but he was the first to say sorry or admit he was wrong.  There are many things that we have done this past week because we know for a fact “that is the way dad would have wanted it”.

Dad’s biggest challenge in life came on March 30th when he suffered a massive heart attack.  A challenge he succumbed to on April 6 at 1:20 am surrounded by the love of his life, mom and his kids.  Mom, dad would be so proud of you how you handled the vehicle when he had his heart attack, performed CPR and have been so strong this week.  He loved you SO much.

Dad was predeceased by his father John, one sister Magdalene and one brother Robert, “Bobbie”.

Dad is survived by his constant support for 45 years, his wife Marilyn; his son Grant and his wife Astrida; his daughter, Colleen Heinrichs and granddaughters Kendra and Mackenzie Heinrichs; and loved by his son in-law Dave Heinrichs all of Winnipeg.

Dad is also survived by his mom Helen Hoeppner of Altona; his sister Luella and husband Marvin Roth of Edmonton and their family; his brother Peter of Altona; his sister Ruth and husband Ed Siemens of Altona and their family.  He is also survived by numerous special nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws.

We truly are thankful to ALL the medical staff for everything they did for dad; dad’s personal physician, the paramedics, the fire/rescue squad, the doctors and the professional staff at the Victoria and St. Boniface hospital.

Dad and mom were to be at the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas right now.   As I speak there is a moment of silence being held in Las Vegas for dad.  I can only imagine what dad would have said if he knew the humble engineer from Winnipeg had slowed down Vegas.

I would love to keep telling you stories about dad because as long as I am talking about him you are remembering him.  So please tell each other stories of dad, tell us stories of dad…keep his memory alive.

Dad  - I love you.

Family Tribute - Grant Hoeppner, son

I have 3 books here that clearly represent Dad’s life. But here’s the thing ... these three books do not represent compartmentalized segments of Dad’s life. These aspects were this intertwined overlapping network that weaved together throughout his life.  

Book #1.     Griffith (Electronics text book)

Dad started in the hands on world of plumbing with his father in Altona. He also experimented with growing rabbits which I understand was wildly successful. But there was a new venture in town and that was a radio station called CFAM where he and his Dad were involved with doing plumbing work. Dad was interested in the truths of the unseen world of electronics and so he stuck around the radio station and rapidly determined that was a career path for him. 

He loved every aspect of radio broadcasting but especially transmitter sites. Last night I went with John Wall, Ray Henry and Ed Fast to the CJOB transmitter site to just hang out and be where Dad loved to be. 

Words like Dummy Load, Propagation, Impedance, Standing Wave ratio, STL’s became household words in our family. Which leads me to the second book.

Book #2 Family Photo album

If you thought he was passionate about Radio engineering, he was much more in love with his family.

One of the things I admired most about my Dad was the way he loved his wife. My Mom. Marilyn. He was a great Dad to Colleen and myself. Kendra and Mackenzie were very special grandchildren and very loved by him. They had so many wonderful moments together. He instantly accepted Colleen’s husband Dave and my wife Astrida as a part of his family. We were all so loved.

One of the most fun experiences Dad and I had was a trip together to Russia. We got naked and had a 3 hour Banya experience. Thats a Russian Sauna. We even had a chance to go hear the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.

He loved us like crazy and we loved him back. He roped us into his technical world too. I studied at the same school Dad did SAIT. We together with for many years and on many interesting projects. We worked together in places like Boissevain Manitoba, High River Alberta, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ajax Ontario, CJOB here in Winnipeg, Commonwealth of Dominica and on top McKee Peak near Abbotsford BC. That was our last big radio engineering project together and it was a doozie complete with a helicopter lifting the completed transmitter building onto the top of the mountain. This is when I started getting interested in being more involved in the production side of broadcasting. Specifically Video production. 

Book # 3 Bible

This leads me to the 3rd book. His Bible. If you thought Jack was passionate about radio engineering and if you thought Dad loved his family a lot ... well the truth is He recognized the unseen truths of God from a very early age and throughout his life those truths were the foundation for every aspect of his life.

When I was looking for a way to be involved in Christian media outreach through video production, it was Dad who said “Why don’t you talk to Lorlie Barkman at Family Life Network here in Winnipeg” Well one thing lead to another and here I am now working at FLN for the past 10 years doing exactly what Dad loved to do. Working through media to encourage people to seek God. In fact Dad was on the board at FLN for many years previous to my working there.

You see Dad not only learned the truths of how someone can sit in a small talk booth with a microphone and send unseen electromagnetic signals around the world to huge numbers of people sitting by their radios, he also recognized the unseen truths of God. He believed that God created him as a unique person with a special call in his life to live every aspect of his life in a way that not only honored God but also, gave life to people of all kinds. And Dad was great at this. He has left a huge footprint in the lives of many people. And I believe many people have seen God through his life.

I’m sure this is not breaking news to you that Dad was a follower of Jesus Christ and I’m standing here today to say what I really think he would want me to say. And that is to read from his bible my favorite verse from scripture which Dad always pointed me to. Good old John 3:16 & 17

Dad went through life sincerely trusting in Jesus Christ as his rescuer from death. Dad served God in every aspect of his life. He left a great example to us all. And now he does not need to believe any more because he is actually experiencing what he believed in.  

This was not just theory, a crutch or some tradition for him. He saw his faith as the ultimate eternal reality. Right now Jack Hoeppner as a person is not dead. Jack Hoeppner as a person is very much alive, alive and living together with God in Heaven.

Today is not only a celebration of Dad’s life it is another one of those opportunities for each one of us to recognize the truth about who Jesus is and what he is inviting us into. Because that is the meaning of life. I know Dad would want that communicated loud and clear. 

Thank you everyone for your love and encouragement. It is beautiful. I love you Dad. I’ll see you later.

Professional Tribute - Charles Adler, CORUS Radio

My name is Charles Adler. I am the host of Canada's only private sector National Talk on the Corus Radio Network. The flagship station is the venerable CJOB-68 here in Winnipeg. Our  show would not have the seamless technical integrity it has from Victoria BC to Halifax to Nova Scotia and around the world on the World Wide Web, if it were not for the fine mind and deeper than the ocean  integrity of Jack Hoeppner. I cannot tell you how many times in my  38 year long career, I have heard a statement begin with the words, this would not have been possible without Jack Hoeppner. 

When a great fellow engineer Laverne Siemens of Golden West was introducing Jack on a night in which he was winning a Hall of Fame award in the builder category, Siemens said, " Often people who are given builder awards are ones who were instrumental in the formation of an aspect of their industry or their sport, be that locally or globally.  But rarely are they ones who literally build something…like something tangible with their own hands.   Today’s recipient is an exception.   He has in a very real way built much in the field of broadcast.  His finger prints are on countless radio stations across Canada and many places beyond.   CSI could trace numerous studio and transmitter installations right back to Jack Hoeppner." Ladies and Gentlemen we don't need the CSI folks to tell us just a short minutes from here on Jack Blick Avenue at Polo Park.. We don't need the CSI folks to find Jack's finger prints. They are still fresh on his desk and on his tools and on the magnificent engineering panels that he designed and built. Corus Entertainment`s new home at Polo Park is the house that Jack built. Ironically and maybe this is Jack who is one of the unique people that God ever loaned to us. Maybe this is Jack`s unique sense of timing. The house that he built opens officially tomorrow. All the suits will be there. Those of us who don`t often wear suits except on special occasions like this one..We`ll be wearing our Sunday best tomorrow to honour the Very Best in the business who built this most magnificent broadcast facility, and we will all be honouring Jack Hoeppner`s great work of broadcast art. And I know there are many admirers of art in this very special place today. And you need to know that those of us who have had the pleasure of working with Jack understood that he was just a man of science and engineering. But also a man of art. He had the brain of an engineer and the heart of an artist. And like all great artists he saw things in his mind`s eye that many others could not or would not see. In the House that Jack build there is a collection of art that includes some works of a Manitoba artist who grew up in Winkler not terribly far from where Jack grew up. Jack told me recently how much he loved the art adorning the walls the work of Shirley Elias. I can`t tell you how that made me feel knowing that Shirley is my wife`s or as Jack would say, my frau, my frau`s very best friend.  It`s a small world, a closely knit world. Jack was a man who gave himself to the world and brought people together. Whether it was by figuring out a way for stations in Winkler and Altona and Steinbach to simulcast bringing together people in those communities, or whether it was building radio stations in the Caribbean or Africa or the Middle East. The great radio engineer instinctively knew how to make the wider world a small world. Compressing space and time through broadcast technology. He was born for our industry. 

 In his foreign adventures, Jack and his frau Marilyn weren`t just participating in bringing the blessings of broadcast communication to people who had never experienced it. They were  bringing the blessings of the Lord. Jack Hoeppner didn`t just have a world class engineer`s mind. He had a very beautiful Christian mind.  He was one of the finest examples of Christian fellowship that I have ever encountered. Most of the conversations that Jack and I had weren`t about engineering and weren`t about broadcasting. They were about the deepest issues that afflict men and women and families. The deepest issues that create conflict around the world. While Jack appreciated the fact that I need to be entertaining to generate a loyal audience, he always appreciated that the entertainment was not without purpose. And he appreciated that when I had a personal connection to public issues, I would not conceal it from the audience.  I would instead reveal why the public issue is a personal one for me. Jack appreciated that when I discussed something as important to him as PERSONAL FAITH  when I discussed the Christopher Hitchens book  God is not Great-How Religion Poisons everything, When I pushed back hard on that Hitchens premise and predicate, I talked about Religion not as a poison but as an agent of great healing and compassion.  I talked about how the love of Christ motivated a Christian order of nurses to administer aid and comfort, medicine and bandages to my maternal grandmother when she was reduced to something resembling a corpse in a World War II concentration camp. I talked about the Christian conscience of a man named Wallenberg who rescued my mother and many others in the Budapest ghetto of 1944. She was only ten and it had it not been for the Swedish passport she was given, she was guaranteed a passport to Auschwitz.  My family has known the difference between the Good and Evil, because we have met the faces of both. And so when someone tries to tell me that religion poisons everything I know that it did not poison the minds of those Christian nurses who helped my grandmother and or the Christian conscience of the man who saved my mother  or the millions of other Christians who have donated time and money and themselves  in building hospitals and universities and radio stations to advance the cause of human progress. You cannot love God, and not love his greatest creation, human life.  And you love that creation by doing whatever you can to advance the human being`s capacity for knowledge, for brotherhood, for compassion. These are things that I would talk about on the air that Jack didn`t just respond to with his cerebral approval. These are things he practised. And while I never got to tell Jack that the most visible face of good i my professional life  was his face. While I never told him that seeing his great father figure face, the face of a good Christian man..While I never told him that his face gave me extra motivation to push back on the Chistopher Hitchens libel against the Lord,  I`m telling you now Jack.  I`m telling you we cannot celebrate your life today without thanking you for the gift of faith that your life has given us today. Good faith without good works can be a hollow thing. Jack Hoeppner didn`t just believe in Him. He walked with him. He walked the walk.  Good works. Great Work Ethic and Purposeful Professional work. That's the Hoeppner creed and the Jack Hoeppner brand.

Jack Hoeppner has many broadcasters across the country who have been up close and personal with his brand. One of them is 37 year veteran broadcaster, Brian Barkley, one of the heart and soulers at CJOB.

Three weeks ago he and his wife Brendene were at Dinner with Jack and Marilyn and he recalls Jack   reminiscing  about his family, his faith, his pride in all things Mennonite. He spoke so easily about the varied parts of his life including the setup of Christian radio stations in many parts of the globe and living in such places  as Dominica and parts of South America. The guy had so much life experience that took in his national Corus work or world wide travels or heading out to the CJOB transmitter with Vic Grant in the middle of a blizzard. And as you know, despite all the talents and honours he was given he was still a proud father and grand father who adored his wife and family.  As soon as Jack heard my wife Brendene was heading to Dominica to teach teachers for 2 weeks he gave her the names of people running the Christian radio station on that island. Those people were extremely helpful to Brendene during her stay. It also made me feel better that "Jack's people" were helping my wife in a far away country.

I first met Jack in 1974 at CFAM in Altona where he was the chief engineer and I was the new announcer. During some of my evening shifts he came by to chat and made me feel welcome at my new station. Even then people who knew Jack were very proud of what he had done in designing a state of the art control board that allowed one announcer to run programming for 3 separate stations simultaneously..Even back that far his achievements were significant. He loved his work...successes and frustrations. In all the years I knew Jack I can't recall him being down or negative about whatever life threw his way...In so many ways he was simply "a good man"...and that's what made him a great man to me. -Brian Barkley speaking for every professional who has worked with Jack Hoeppner. My close friend and CJOB program director Kevin Wallace who first worked with Jack said the very same things about him. When Garth Buchko invited me back to Manitoba after having been away for ten years, he talked with great pride about the legends who had sat in front of the CJOB microphone the Peter Warrens and the Bob Irvings  and he also talked about how proud he was of having an engineering legend at CJOB. In all the years that I heard Radio Station Presidents talk to me about the broadcasters they admired the most this was the very first time I heard one talking about his Chief Engineer. But of course as we've all come to know Jack was much more to everyone than just a great engineer. He was an inspirational, and comforting and mentoring father figure. At CJOB we got to see that in a very personal way only weeks ago, when on one of last days at the McLennan building on 930 Portage, John Wall received the Cream of the Crop award for his outstanding contribution to CJOB in working round the clock for many months in making Jack Hoeppner's Engineering design come to life at our new Polo Park facility. None of us will ever forget how it looked and felt and sounded when Jack Hoeppner in role of the inspirational teacher and mentor bestowed the honour on his professional pride and joy. He talked about meeting John Wall when he was just a teenager, encouraging him to the same school that Jack went to study broadcast technology, SAIT, in Calgary and then gave him his first radio job in Southern Manitoba and then brought him to Winnipeg. I don't know how many of us in the room at the time felt that this was Jack Hoeppner passing on the torch to his prodigy, John Wall.  But today there is no human being in this great church who doubts that Jack Hoeppner has passed the torch on to all of us in broadcasting and all of us who love life.

Radio is a magical land of  companionship and community. Those of us who practise the trade know how important it is to communicate with our listeners on a one to one level. You're never alone when the voice on the radio is communicating with you in an engaged, thoughtful, loving manner. That's the Jack Hoeppner way. It is what he taught. It was how he lived and it was how he died. Engaged, Thoughtful, Loving. The day before Jack had took his last car ride with Marilyn, this one to the hospital, the day before, he and I talked about the future and his optimism about the future of broadcasting. Digital Digital Digital. He was going to push heaven and earth to create more digital spectrum for all of us. And I remember saying, I don't how the industry can thank you enough for what you do for all of us. The humble mennonite just looked me in the eye and said in a very soft way thank you and Weidersehen, and I said Weidersehen. And today in behalf of Corus and all of us who have worked and admired and derived a tremendous benefit from the life and works of Jack Hoeppner, Thank you Jack. Weidersehen and to your good and great friend upstairs I just want to say Our Father who art in Heaven if you are looking for someone to design and build a heavenly radio station, please consider your humble servant, Jack Hoeppner.

Devotional and Prayer - John Unger, Pastor at Fort Garry MB Church

Devotional – John Unger

Lamentations 3:22-26

 The section of Scripture we heard read for us a few moments ago is among the best-loved passages in the Bible.   These verses have served as the inspiration for many songs of faith.  “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning.  Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord.”  What a positive outlook on life!  What a ringing declaration of faith in God!

What most people don’t know is that these verses come from the book of Lamentations, one of the darkest, most depressing books of the Bible.  If Jeremiah is the weeping prophet, then Lamentations could easily be called his Book of Tears.  It is a lament for a wounded, broken people whose golden years have come to an end, whose dreams have been dashed and whose promises for the future left in tatters.  Jeremiah the prophet is heart-broken, and in this writing he weeps openly before God and before his people at the tragedy that has befallen them.

What’s more, Jeremiah blames God, and dares to give full voice to his anger and bitterness in God’s hearing.  Listen to the opening verses of this chapter.

I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the LORD’s anger.

He has brought me into deep darkness, shutting out all light.

He has turned against me.

And then, like floodwaters that have burst their banks, Jeremiah’s complaints begin to pour out, one after the other, reaching and stretching for language, piling up image upon image, metaphor upon metaphor, to convey, in some way, the darkness and despair that have overtaken him.  And every single complaint is directed squarely against God.

Day and night his hand is heavy upon me.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old.

He has broken my bones.

He has attacked me and surrounded me with anguish and distress.

He has buried me in a dark place, like a person long dead.

He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.

He has bound me in heavy chains.

And though I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayers.

He has blocked my path with a high stone wall.

He has twisted the road before me with many detours.

He hid like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.

He dragged me off the path and tore me with his claws, leaving me helpless and desolate.

He bent his bow and aimed it squarely at me.

He shot his arrows deep into my heart…

He has filled me with bitterness.

He has given me a cup of deep sorrow to drink.

He has made me grind my teeth on gravel.

He has rolled me in the dust.

Finally, exhausted of anger and empty of words, all that is left is the brokenness of his spirit and the desolation of his soul.

Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.

I cry out, “My splendor is gone!  Everything I hoped for from the LORD is lost!”

The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Sometimes we should sit in silence for a time, to absorb the weight of such words.

And then, suddenly, without warning, like a single shaft of light piercing through the darkness, come these next words,

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this,

The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! 

By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him.”

And we say, What???  Where did that come from?  Jeremiah, have you lost it?  How do we move from here (this deep darkness) to there (this exalted hope) without even a hint of transition?

Ah, but isn’t that the reality of grief?  We rage.  We weep.  We turn to the One whose love never fails, even on our darkest days, because we know the presence of darkness is not the absence of God. 

A recent email I received from Jack had, as the subject line, “we are in God’s hands.”  That is the sentiment and essence of this Scripture. 

Jack was a Christian who understood the estimate of God’s love is not measured by the ease and comfort of our lives, freedom from suffering or absence of grief.

When we are at our best, Christians understand and remember the depth of God’s love expressed in solidarity with human suffering, God’s love expressed in Jesus, God in human form coming into our world as the son of a refugee family, growing up poor in a backwater village, resented by his peers, ostracized by the system, ultimately crucified by the politics of power that throughout history have known only one way of dealing with challenge and protest.

The depth of God’s love is measured in that God did not retaliate in anger and revenge.  In his death, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”  In his resurrection, Christ overturned the power of death.  In the gospel, the unending cycle of escalating violence is broken.   There comes the possibility of grace, the possibility of forgiveness, the possibility that the shame of our human experience can be overwhelmed by acceptance and love, the possibility that life truly can be characterized by that ancient notion of shalom, meaning everything that is whole, everything that is good and right.  Peace that builds bridges of reconciliation.  Prosperity that is rich in its truest sense.  The reign of God on earth.

For Christians, these are the ultimate realities of life.  This is what Jack meant when he wrote, “we are in God’s hands”.  And Jack would say to us today, God’s hands are a good place to be.

And so, today, even in our sorrow, we can say with Jeremiah, “The unfailing love of the Lord never ceases.”

We can declare, “His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning.”

And, though our hearts are heavy and our eyes may fill with tears, we can sing, as we did just moments ago, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” 

  

PRAYER:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God our Father.

There is no shadow of turning with Thee.

Hear our prayer, O Lord.

 For Marilyn, Grant, Colleen and their families, we pray your strength and comfort.  Be their bedrock, their firm foundation that will not fail.  Let them experience your mercy in new measure, every morning.

 And for us all, I pray your continuing presence.  Give us the grace to seek you, each in our own way, that we may know your great love and faithfulness to us, now and forever.

We pray in the name of Jesus.

 Amen.

Love You Dad

Trust Fund - Update

Please note a slight change for the Education Trust Fund.

Donations may be sent to:
Education Trust Fund
c/o #2304-1960 St. Mary's Road
Winnipeg, MB  R2N 4M7

Cheques are to be made to "Marilyn Hoeppner", MD Management will administer the Trust Fund.

Donation envelopes will be available at the church.

Dad's Obituary

This is the obituary for Dad that was published in the Winnipeg Free Press on Saturday, April 9th:

John (Jack) Edward Hoeppner, beloved husband of Marilyn, father to Grant (Astrida) Hoeppner and Colleen Heinrichs, grandpa to Kendra and Mackenzie Heinrichs and loved by son in-law Dave Heinrichs, passed away Wednesday, April 6^th at the St. Boniface Hospital.  Dad packed in more than two life times of activities and accomplishments in his 67 years. Dad was known for his passions:  his love for God, his love for his family and his love for radio engineering around the world and most recently at Corus Entertainment (CJOB) as National Director of Engineering, Radio.

A celebration of all these passions and more will be held Monday, April 11^th at the Immanuel Pentecostal Church, 955 Wilkes Ave., Winnipeg, MB, 2:00 pm.  A private family burial will be held before the Celebration.

In lieu of flowers and in honor of Jack’s love to mentor the younger generation donations may be made to an Educational Trust Fund for Jack’s beloved granddaughters  Kendra & Mackenzie Heinrichs, available at the church.

We are extremely grateful for the caring efforts of dad’s personal physician, the paramedics, the Fire/Rescue squad, the Victoria and St. Boniface Hospital professional and medical staff members.  

Dad you were the best – we love you.

Trust Fund Address and Information

Some of you have asked where to send donations for the Education Trust Fund for Jack's beloved Granddaughters.  The information is as follows:

Cheques can be mailed to:

Marilyn Hoeppner
2304-1960 St Mary's Rd
Winnipeg MB  R2N 4M7

Please make cheques out to "Marilyn Hoeppner".

Celebration of Life Service - Information

The Celebration of Life Service for Jack Hoeppner

will be held

Monday, April 11, 2011

2:00 pm

Immanuael Pentecostal Church

955 Wilkes Avenue

Winnipeg, Manitoba

In lieu of flowers and in honor of Jack's passion to mentor the younger generation donations may be made to an Educational Trust Fund for Jack's beloved Granddaughters,

Kendra and Mackenzie Heinrichs (available at the church).

Arrangements are by Friends Funeral Chapel.

Update Wednesday Afternoon

We are working on planning a Celebration of Dad's Life Service.  We are working on some logistic issues and will have the service information posted some time tomorrow, hopefully early afternoon.

Thank you for your continued support, love and emails/posts.

I also want to take this opportunity to publically express our deep gratitude to both the professional and medical staff at the Victoria Hospital and the St. Boniface Hospital, the paramedics, the Fire/Rescue squad and the stranger who helped direct the paramedics to mom.  Their efforts were nothing less then remarkable and admirable. 

Colleen....for mom, Grant and Astrida

Dad

This morning Dad quietly passed away and is now in Heaven in God's presence.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." 2 Tim. 4:7,8.

It's been a long week for us and we will be leaning on God's love as well as yours.

Details of a memorial service will be posted here on the blog as soon as we have that figured out. 

Thank you for your support and encouragement.

The blog will stay up and we will eagerly read all your beautiful comments.

Colleen, Grant & Astrida for our Mom, Marilyn

Dad Update - Tuesday afternoon

Dad has been moved to Palliative Care.  He is breathing on his own but medical efforts to help him regain consciousness have stopped.  Please pray for mom.  These are long days, and even longer nights. We thank you for all your support and concern at this time visits are limited to immediate family only.

Colleen & Grant

Tuesday mid-day

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.  We read your comments and emails over and over and they provide a lot of comfort, especially in the middle of the long nights.

Colleen.....

Tuesday AM - Update

After a very long night, Dad is still fighting for his life.
Please pray for mom.
Colleen

Monday Evening Update

Dad is fighing hard for his life.

Please continue to pray!!

Monday AM - Update

Dad had a restful night.  The nurses commented this morning that he is an awesome guy  - - - we already knew that though.

More tests this morning.  We will keep you posted.

Sunday Evening Update on Dad

Dad is still hanging in there but really by now we would have expected some improvement in his medical situation. The medical team continue to do tests and procedures in an attempt to get to a point where he can show some response and start to wake up. We hope and pray that he will take a turn for the better as soon as possible but the reality is that his body might not survive this. This was one really bad heart attack and he has not been conscious since he had it on Wednesday. We wanted to share this with you to be as open as we can because we know of your love and concern for him. We as a family are hanging in there but this sure is hard and we do appreciate your prayers and encouragement. We read all your emails and comments on the blog. They are very special to us. God is good and we realize His presence very clearly in this time. Right now we are waiting for more test results. 

We'll keep you posted through this blog as we know more. Thanks for hanging in there with us in this very uncertain time.

Grant

Sunday AM

Dad had a peacful night as he is heavily sedated.  Please continue to pray for us as a family, especially for Kendra and Mackenzie as this is their precious Grandpa and they are having a very difficult time.

(Several people have let me know it is hard to leave a comment.  I have tried to make some improvements so please try again if you wish to leave a comment).

Update: Saturday, April 2nd (afternoon)

Test results show no change in dad's condition.  They will wait another 24 hours and do more tests again.
Please continue to pray.

The Dude

What a crazy last few days this has been. Our family has been very 

blessed over the years and so this sort of thing really shakes things 

up for us. I thought I would just add a few recent photos and say 

thanks to everyone who has been praying for Dad and us as a family. 

Thanks for your encouragement. We are really pleased with the care Dad 

is getting by the Doctors and Nurses and believe that God is the best 

caregiver of all. It's great to know that even in these hard times, 

God is love and that He is caring for Dad better than any of us ever 

could.

Dad, when you get a chance to read this ... We love you very much.

Grant and Astrida

Blog site created

I have to admit I don't blog, so here is my first attempt.  Dad obviously has a TON of people he knows.  Keeping everyone updated in a timely, accurate manner on his condition has proven to be a little difficult, so here's hoping this will help. 

Feel free to leave comments, mom loves to hear how people are thinking and praying for dad.  We don't anticipate any changes until late today.  I'll update once we know anything.  No news = no change.

Thank you to all the people who dad works with/for.  The Corus family is obviously very tight and caring, we as a family greatly appreciate all your support.

There are two older posts here that are  two of the emails I sent out in the past couple of days on dad's condition.

Thanks,
Colleen
Jack Hoeppner's New Press Secretary

Update on Dad

I apologize for the very sporadic emails/communication.  Cell phones are only permitted in limited areas in the hospital and unless you hold your lap top with one hand and stand on one foot internet is hard to come by.

Dad did not come out of his induced coma the way we or the doctors would have liked.  Dad’s brain is still “miss firing” and so they have him back in a sedated coma on some additional medication to stop the “miss firing”.   The EEG and other tests will be performed again tomorrow morning to see if there is any improvement. 

Like I said early this is a marathon, but true to form dad won’t let a challenge stop him. 

We don’t anticipate any change or updates from the doctors until maybe tomorrow afternoon.  We have all gone home to get some sleep and clean clothes.

Although I have done my fair share of belly aching at the WRHA and our medical system in Manitoba I have to admit I am SUPER impressed with the doctors, nurses, RT’s and the rest of the staff that have been assigned to dad.  They have been top notch, professional, compassionate individuals who deserve great respect and prize for their efforts.

Mom once again is the rock of our family and is doing exceptionally well….we all have our moments.

Once again the doctors have asked that we limit visitation to immediate family members only.  We will let you know when extended family and friends can come and we can all share a laugh with him.

Have a great weekend, hug your family and tell them you love them.

Colleen…..(Jack’s daughter)

Dad had a heart attack

For those of you who have not heard this may be quite shocking to you:

My father, Jack Hoeppner had a massive heart attack (with 2 arrests) this morning.

A very long story short….dad is on a ventilator, in induced coma and had a 100% blocked main artery.

The next 24 – 48 hours are critical to determine if dad lives.  Tomorrow evening they will try to bring him out of the induced coma to see if there is any brain activity or at what level there is activity.

Mom was with dad when this all happened and performed CPR on him as soon as she could safely stop the vehicle.

The doctors have told us that mom was amazing in her ability to think at that time and credits her greatly.

For those in the medical field……. I greatly apologize for my lack of medical terminology.

For those in the engineering field….dad had a complete reboot to his system today.

 For those of you who know my dad, he is very strong….AND can be stubborn.  Two things he

has going for him right now.

 Prayers are greatly welcomed.  I do not know how/when we will be able to provide updates….we will do

So when we can.

Thanks,

Colleen (the proud daughter of the humble Mennonite, Jack)