Peter Regier
Father, husband, pioneer, horseman, mentor. Born on Oct. 23, 1922, in Margenau, Siberia, Russia; died on Nov. 27, 2015, in Winnipeg, of natural causes, aged 93.
Peter was a man of three continents. He began life in Siberia, in the Mennonite farming village of Margenau. The 1920s were terrible years in Russia and, when he was 7, his family chose to abandon their home and escape to the Chaco region of Paraguay. There they started over in a colony with other German-speaking Mennonite refugees from Russia.
They were safe from the communist menace, but life was difficult in other ways. The Chaco (also known as the "green hell") had no wells, roads, sewers, electricity or medical facilities. When typhoid hit the settlers 18 months after they arrived, Peter's father was among the victims. Having to grow up without a father left its mark on Peter, but he adapted to the difficult conditions.
He became an expert with horses, making his living by capturing and selling wild horses. Years later, he was horrified when he saw western movies showing horses being "broken." He always said a true bond between horse and rider can only happen when there is mutual respect, which comes from gentling a horse, not breaking it.
The end of the Second World War brought a fresh wave of Mennonite refugees to the Chaco. When Peter sold some horses to one of the new families, he found the love of his life in one of their daughters. He and Maria Kroeker were married in December, 1950. The harsh life in the Chaco may have been exciting for a young, single man, but after the arrival of their first two children, the couple decided to move to Winnipeg, following Maria's parents who had moved there to join other relatives.
Immigrating is never easy, and the first years were difficult for Peter. He had given up being master of his own ranch to live as a boarder, with his young family, in a single room. But getting to Canada had cost everything he had, and there was no turning back. To support his family, he turned to his other talent – carpentry.
While his occupation was carpentry, his real calling was to be a mentor, supporter and helper of all who crossed his path. He served as father figure to fatherless boys, supported street ministries, sponsored Vietnamese refugees, gave jobs to recent immigrants, and welcomed all children and teenagers, no matter how noisy. One time at a building site, he found three boys vandalizing the site. Rather than be angry, he gave each of them a constructive job to do. The boys came back the next day, and for the rest of the week, which Peter finished off with a pizza party.
He was a faithful member of the North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church in Winnipeg. Serving actively into his 70s, he volunteered to go to Lithuania to mentor local workers, teaching them essential carpentry skills.
Peter loved God and his family above all. He was proud of his wife, three sons, three daughters and 14 grandchildren, and was grateful to have lived long enough to welcome four great-grandsons. His life was one of triumphing over adversity, and contributing to the happiness of his family and to the well-being of the many needy people who came his way. By staying true to his calling, he left the world a better place.
Elvira Regier Smid is Peter's daughter.