Jonathan G. Friesen

1980 ~ 2019

It is with broken hearts we announce the tragic passing of our beloved husband, father and son, Jonathan Friesen, who passed away on October 26, 2019. But with the great loss of his passing on earth, we rejoice in the knowledge that he has joined many family and friends gone ahead to their heavenly home. Jonathan left us while doing what he loved best, serving others in the seat of his favorite airplane. As he liked to sometimes say, “He went out with his boots on!”

He will be lovingly remembered by his wife Tanya, son Liam and daughter Keira; his parents Klass and Linda Friesen; parents in-law Bryan and Jan Williamson; brother Mark, sister Julie (Scott) Williamson, sister Lois (Jonathan) Thiessen, sister-in-law Allison (Kelly) Demoline and sister-in-law Kim Friesen. He so loved his nieces and nephews Jacob, Riley and Hannah (with Jesus in 2003), Norah, Joseph and Lucy, Zoe, Edom and Edillie. He loved so much to tease them!

Jonathan grew up on the family farm near Riverton, MB where he enjoyed helping with all aspects of farming and raising cattle. Over the years he continued to have strong ties to his home community and enjoyed visits with friends and family there, especially if it meant he could spend a few hours in a tractor. After high school he started his flight training where he met the love of his life. After completing his flight training and getting married, he started his flying career in Ear Falls, ON where he also spent winters doing highway maintenance. His flying career then took him to Bissett, MB to work for Blue Water Aviation. What started out as a stepping stone job turned into a career and the development of a whole new “family”. He was never one to sit still so when he wasn’t flying he would be on call with the local EMS department, or out in the bush logging, driving truck, plowing driveways, helping with building projects and many other jobs and hands on activities. He loved serving others, and always with utmost humility.

Jonathan’s definition of family extended well beyond it’s genetic borders. He was blessed to have a flying family that extended well beyond the confines of his job, an EMS family, a huge local community family, as well as friends stretching to the far corners of the globe. He was a man of few words with a huge presence that had a way of making everyone feel special.

The family would like to extend a big thank you to all who have helped out in the last few weeks. The dive teams that worked tirelessly in poor conditions to bring him home, the community members of Little Grand Rapids who helped with the search and provided necessary supplies, the air operators who supplied aircraft and pilots, and the many friends who gave of their time, supplied meals, and were just there to love us!

A celebration of Jonathan’s life will be held at the Bissett Community Hall on November 16, 2019 at 1:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations would be gratefully accepted towards a fund for Liam and Keira’s education.  Donations can be e-transferred to JonathanLegacy@hotmail.com.

www.soberingfuneralchapel.com

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