He was instrumental in setting up Canada’s first artificial
insemination unit in the Waterloo Region and Semex Canada.
He gathered a group
of friends who bought high-quality Holstein heifers to donate to the Mennonite
Central Committee auction every February, and they usually sold for the top price.
He was a prominent member of Erb Street Mennonite Church in
Waterloo, a director on the board of Conrad Grebel College at the University of
Waterloo and of the Mennonite Economic Development Associates.
He was one of the owners of Kitchener Stock Yards which was
merged with the Ontario Livestock Exchange and the St. Jacobs Market, both on
the northern outskirts of Waterloo.
He earned many awards and honours, including election to the
Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.
He was predeceased by his wife, Clara Belle, after they were
married for 61 years, by four daughters and their children and grandchildren.
