Raymond Scribner

Raymond Lee Scribner
March 15, 1927 to April 19, 2019

Memorial Service previously held
April 27, 2019 in Delta, BC 

INTERMENT GRAVESIDE SERVICE
July 26, 2019 at 1:30pm
Ninette Cemetery
Ninette, MB

Lunch to follow at Ninette Hall
catered by Ninette Community Ladies

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to
Ninette Cemetery Committee
Box 112
Ninette, MB R0K 1R0

OBITUARY
Raymond became a resident of Ninette MB on March 15, 1927, the third youngest of 14 children born to Thornton and Grace Scribner.  As all his siblings, he was born at home with the distinction of being "the seventh son of a seventh son". He often commented on his birth as being less celebratory than news that the "cow had freshened".

Life in rural Manitoba during the dirty thirties was difficult for the large Scribner family. Thornton worked as a blacksmith and usually was paid by barter. Grace worked tirelessly at home, as did most other women, surviving without electricity, plumbing or income. Raymond recalls seeing boxcars filled with unemployed men, as he gazed out the windows of Ninette school. The rapscallions who were the Scribner kids spent their summers in bare feet often playing at the nearby creek, and winters in gumboots with no insulation against the bitter cold. The older siblings began their exodus from the family home and eventually the youngest - Joe, Bessie, Raymond, Eva and Stanley were teenagers when their mother passed away in 1942. Raymond claimed he's never since had bread pudding or dumplings as scrumptious as his dear mother had made.

Raymond's first job away from home was at the Kelly's farm and soon after with his brother Jim who was batching after taking over the Haynes farm. He also worked with his brother Pat on a railway B&B gang and completed basic training for the infantry. Their father Thornton died in 1950. Raymond, having embraced the teachings of Jesus, heard an insistent call to carry the gospel message to others. Beginning in 1952 his missions took him to many communities in Manitoba and Ontario before volunteering to go to Africa. The hymn "Forget Them Not" chosen for today's service, was sung at a farewell meeting for Raymond in Winnipeg before Jim and Verna Scribner and their kids drove him to New York where he departed alone on an ocean voyage to Benin. For over two years Raymond learned to speak French and became immersed in this foreign country's culture and communities while preaching the gospel. He contracted malaria which plagued him for a number of years after returning to Canada. It was during this time Raymond made the difficult decision to leave the ministry and in his own words "the best 15 years of my life".

A new chapter began in Ottawa where he met and married French speaking Alice Nadon. His ashes will now rest beside her here in Ninette cemetery where several of Raymond's family have been buried. After years of marriage, employment and relocation, Alice passed away while they resided in New Westminster. In 2002 Velma (Geier) McLean and Raymond were married and lived in Chilliwack. Raymond enjoyed acreage life where there were farm animals, a creek, and many areas for him to practise his love of nature, flowers and tidiness. After Velma's death Raymond moved back to the Vancouver area and later married Hazel (nee Wells). They travelled across Canada visiting relatives and friends until deteriorating health eventually brought them both to KinVillage Care Home where Raymond passed away April 19, 2019. Hazel cherishes her memories of him as "a good man, and very, very kind".

Everybody loved Raymond, for certain. He diligently kept up with family history and relatives. Knowing nearly every one of his nieces and nephews and their families earned him the honor of "our favorite Uncle". He had a happy and easy nature, not a bit afraid of hard work, and would lend a hand to anyone who was tackling any task. He wrote about wishing he had been taller, but did the best with his 5'8" frame he was given. Truly a Scribner, he knew how to tell a story, debate any topic, and have his voice raise in pitch when the discussion got heated. His passions included his faith, family and friends. There was a special place in his heart for the Ninette community where he began his life and now after 92 years, has come home to rest.

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