Epp, Siegfried Victor "Fred" (1931-2020)

Fred Epp (1931-2020)
Photo: Friends Funeral Home Online Obituary.

Fred Epp: Mennonite Brethren missionary and missions administrator; born 9 February 1931 in Rosetown, Saskatchewan to Johannes Epp (20 September1893 – 13 October1969) and Katarina (Dick) Epp (24 December 1896 - 15 February 1984). He was the third child of three sons and one daughter born to this union and one daughter born to his father and his first wife. On 25 July 1963 Fred married Irma Neufeldt Sawatsky (1 August 1933 – 17 September 2016) in the Yarrow British Columbia Mennonite Brethren Church. Irma was the widow of Walter Sawatsky (26 December 1930 – 29 June 1961) and the daughter of Peter P. Neufeldt (14 August 1911 – 29 June 1961) and Helena (Enns) Neufeldt (14 December 1911 – 18 April 1999). Irma brought two sons, Terrance and Edwin, into the marriage and Fred and Irma had one daughter, Darlene. Fred died on11 December 2020 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he was buried on 15 December 2020.

In 1938 the Epp family relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba from a farm in the Fiske-Herschel area of Saskatchewan. He graduated from the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute in 1950 and then worked for several years in banking and drafting.

Fred became a Christian at about the age of 14, and was baptized at 16 and received into the North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church.

Beginning in1955, he studied at the Mennonite Brethren Bible College (MBBC) in Winnipeg for two years toward a Bachelor of Religious Education degree. This was followed by a stint in the Belgian Congo (1957-1960) with Mennonite Brethren Foreign Missions, working with the construction/maintenance team until the country’s war of independence forced the evacuation of all missionaries. He next spent a final year (1960-1961) at MBBC to finish his degree and then returned to the Congo for a year (1961-1962) to work on several construction projects at Kajiji, the main one being completion of the hospital.

The following year was spent at Tabor College from where he graduated in the spring. At Tabor he became re-acquainted with Irma Sawatsky, a fellow student he knew from Africa. They married that summer (1963).

Having been accepted for further service in the Congo, the now blended family spent a year (1964) in French language study in Brussels, Belgium before proceeding to Africa at the beginning of the next year. Here they served in Kinshasa as houseparents for missionary children. They also looked after the nearby guesthouse and Fred became the purchasing/business agent for the Mennonite Brethren mission in the Congo. Following a furlough in 1968 they accepted a position with The American School of Kinshasa, Fred as business administrator and supervisor of a building project, and Irma as teacher. Early in 1971 they re-located to Kikwit where Fred worked with financial and legal matters related to the newly created national conference of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Zaire (the name of the country from 1971-1997). Irma opened an elementary school in Kikwit.

The Epps terminated their work in Zaire in 1973 and after two years of employment in the private sector Fred opened a Canadian office in Winnipeg for Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services. He promoted the work initially with many visits to churches and with the arrangement of missionary deputation schedules. As more staff was added, he became the financial officer for the mission and established a benefits package, including a pension plan, for the missionaries. At the 1995 Convention of the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, Fred was recognized with a plaque for his 37 years of service to Mennonite Brethren foreign missions. Pakisa Tshmika, a church leader in Zaire (Congo), thanked him for “...his very significant contribution to the life of the church in Zaire”. Fred retired the following year.

During their years in Winnipeg, the Epps served with great dedication at the McIvor Avenue Mennonite Brethren Church, mainly, but not exclusively, in the areas of finances and the deaconate.

Notes

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Bibliography

Epp, S. V. "Fred". The Story of My Life. An unpublished autobiography deposited at the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies (Winnipeg, Manitoba).

Author(s)	Ed Lenzmann
Date Published	30 June 2024

Cite This Article

MLA style

Lenzmann, Ed. "Epp, Siegfried Victor "Fred" (1931-2020)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 30 June 2024. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Epp,_Siegfried_Victor_%22Fred%22_(1931-2020)&oldid=179221.

APA style

Lenzmann, Ed. (30 June 2024). Epp, Siegfried Victor "Fred" (1931-2020). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Epp,_Siegfried_Victor_%22Fred%22_(1931-2020)&oldid=179221.

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