Obituaries

LORNE BERNARD KLOEPFER

Lorne Kloepfer passed away on May 3, 2023, and will be greatly missed.

Lorne was born in Calgary, Alberta on January 17, 1936, and enjoyed what his wife Eileen called a “free range childhood”.  Bike-riding, hunting, fishing and simply enjoying those endless summer days with the 18th Avenue gang under the clear blue skies that you get on the Prairies, often capped with a trip for a milkshake at Supercream. Shooting a BB gun in the basement with an errant shot catching his brother Phil above the eye, with lots of blood but no permanent damage. An accidental shotgun blast while getting ready to go out hunting that destroyed a pantry door in his Mom’s kitchen that was quickly if imperfectly repaired. Throwing snowballs on the way home from school at a neighbour’s new Morris Minor.  The result: a crash into a telephone pole and Big Trouble.

His Dad was in the grain trade and a transfer by his employer brought Lorne to Winnipeg in his teens. Lorne missed the Calgary bunch, though, but then met Eileen and everything changed.   He graduated from Kelvin High School, learned to drive and bought a car – a black Austin A40 convertible with whitewalls – and the freedom that being on the open road brought never left him.  A year at University taught Lorne that it was not for him and he left it for a summer job working as a hunting and fishing guide at a lodge in Northwestern Ontario, which for a man who loved the outdoors was more of a vacation than work.

Eileen and Lorne were married on July 18, 1959, and honeymooned in Banff and Calgary.  Their first home was an apartment on Osborne Street but after Catherine’s birth they moved to a rented house in St. Vital.  When Pat came along in 1963, they needed more room and built a home on Carson Bay in St. James.  They moved again to Sansome Avenue after Liz completed their family.  Later he and Eileen built a cottage north of Gimli where they spent many happy summers, often with Lorne puttering in the yard.  All the homes were joyful places, filled with love.

Lorne spent his career in the automotive industry, starting as a draftsman with James B. Carter, which later became Temro, working his way up to senior management.  His job took him all around the world, from Hong Kong to Germany, with Eileen joining him when she could.  He was a long-time member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and served as Chairman of the Manitoba Chapter. Given his mechanical bent, it is no surprise that Lorne was a born tinkerer.  If he saw something that needed fixing or could be made better, he would be on it.  In 1982 he won the Premier’s award for design of the Trunkmate Collapsible Trailer.

Lorne loved competitive target shooting and for many years was an active member and director of the Winnipeg Revolver and Pistol Association and he enjoyed spending many afternoons at the shooting range with his fellow enthusiasts.  In his later days, he participated in cowboy action shooting under the handle “Plum Ornery”.  His boyhood love of nature and wildlife stayed with him for life, and he enjoyed fishing and hunting ducks, geese, prairie chickens or deer.  Mostly, though, it was an opportunity to further his love of the outdoors and the company of others.  He briefly owned a motorcycle but as a family man this was quickly replaced with day trips in the car driving around Southern Manitoba with Eileen and the girls, sometimes with stops for licorice pipes from small rural stores.

In retirement he and Eileen traveled and later spent winters with friends in Arizona and, after that, Victoria.  Always active, he played golf, curled, and was always there to help family and others.  Relationships were always important to Lorne and he and Eileen had a large circle of friends.

Faith was always central to Lorne’s life and he was an active member in his church.  More than that, he lived those values of charity, kindness and decency.  He was a Grand Knight of the St. James Council of The Knights of Columbus and Faithful Navigator of the Captain Miles MacDonnell Assembly of the Fourth Degree.  Lorne particularly valued the friendship he found there and in the good works that they did.

Lorne is survived by his beloved wife Eileen, with whom he shared more than 60 years of marriage, and by his daughters Catherine (Kerry), Patricia (David) and Elizabeth (Patric).  He also leaves four grandchildren, Kelly (Graeme), Eric (Samantha), Sarah (Harrison) and Miranda.  Lorne was predeceased by his parents Philomena and Arthur and by his brothers Victor and Phillip and, most recently, by his dear sister Anna Mae Niven.

The family would like to thank the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Palliative Care Program and Cancer Care Manitoba for their steadfast support in enabling Lorne to stay in his home until the last few days.  A special thank you to the hospice team at the St. Boniface Hospital Palliative Care ward for their kind and compassionate care.  Most of all thanks to all the support of friends and family through this difficult time.

A funeral mass for Lorne will be held at St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, 2400 Portage Avenue on May 17, 2023 at 11:00 am with Father Eric Giddins presiding.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice.