Obituary of Ronald Dornn

Ronald Dornn passed away peacefully on July 21st, 2010 at the Brandon Regional Health Centre, at age 87. In his final days he was surrounded by his loving family and will be deeply missed by his wife of 57 years, Mary, eight children and 23 grandchildren. They include five sons, Edwin (Rita), Alex (Kathleen), Phil (Caroline), Carl (Sharon), Brian (Rhonda) and three daughters, Mary-Ann (Gordon), Rosie (David) and Genie (Paul). Ronald was born in the Russian Ukraine on April 26, 1923. His parents fled the Russian Revolution and came to Canada when he was a five year-old boy. His parents joined the Rockport Hutterite Colony in Alberta and his remarkable life story became the basis of the best-selling Canadian memoir, I Am Hutterite. As an adult Ronald joined the New Rosedale Colony in Manitoba where he had the good fortune to meet Mary Maendel. They were married in November 1952 and had nine children together. In 1969 they made the difficult decision to leave Fairholme Colony for a new start in the outside world. A farmer at heart, Ronald bought a chicken farm in Plum Coulee and eventually built his dream home near Sidney, Manitoba where he farmed for many years before retiring to Brandon in 2003. Bound by a mutual love for God, each other and family, our parents reached out to many others in need. They loved to sing together and we will miss dad singing us awake every morning. He was an honourable man whose word or handshake was as binding as any legal contract - a man who lived his life with integrity and great courage. Ronald was predeceased by his parents, Rosa and Christian Dornn, a son, Reynold Henry and his siblings Mary Heiner and Peter Dornn. His surviving siblings include Christian (Marie) Dorn of Oregon, Christopher (Susie) Dornn of Winnipeg, Rosie Baer of Abbotsford, Elsa Baumbach of Kitchener, and Jake Dornn of Neepawa. A wake will be held on Sunday evening at Brockie Donovan Chapel, 332-8th Street, in Brandon, on Sunday, July 25, 2010 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A Funeral Service will be held at Bethel Christian Assembly, 440 Richmond Ave, Brandon on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. with Pastor Mike Davis officiating. Interment will follow at Chater Cemetery. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the caregivers that looked after our dad, not only in our home but also at the Brandon Regional Health Centre. Our lives were touched by many angels over the past few years and we are so thankful to all of you. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Westman Youth for Christ, 1228 Rosser Ave., Brandon, MB R7A 0L9.