Henry "Laverne" Opperman

In Loving Memory of 

Laverne 
Opperman
age 89 
Lovingly remembered by his wife Joyce, 
children Myrna (Rick), Cathy (Russell), 
Ken (Irene) and Marvin (Kim) grandsons 
Scott (Carrie), Wade, Kevin, Blair, Jason and 
Garret and step-son Dean.
Laverne was predeceased by his first wife Milly.

Passed Away
January 29, 2023
at his residence
Killarney, Manitoba 

In accordance with Laverne’s wishes a 
private family graveside will take place at Boissevain Cemetery at a later date.

Donations in memory of Laverne may be made to the Royal Canadian Legion Branch # 25 
Killarney, Manitoba, Cancer Care Manitoba 
or to a charity of one’s choice.

Our Dad, Laverne Opperman was born October 23, 1933 in Boissevain, Manitoba to Newton and Emma Opperman.   He passed away on January 29, 2023 at the age of 89.  He was the 3rd youngest of 10 kids.  Even though they grew up poor, they always had food on the table and clothes on their backs.  There was no lack of fun or love in his family.  That love of his brothers and sisters, as well as their families still holds true today.  They were a very close-knit family.  Dad was 12 years old when he started to work for George King, at the Red and White grocery store and worked until the store closed in 1958.

On July 18, 1956 Dad married Mom, Mildred Blanchard.  After 3 years of working with Welches Mens Wear, Dad and Mom moved to Margaret in April 1961 where they bought and ran the Lucky Dollar General Store.  In July of the same year, Dad also became the Postmaster.  It was the move to Margaret where Dad and Mom made many cherished friends and memories.  And those memories have been passed on to the next generation, and now we are sharing them with others.  Dad was a very hard worker and never shied away from lending a hand to whoever needed it.  Dad had many side jobs (mostly carpentry) and was also school custodian later on. He helped coach hockey, getting over enthusiastic at times, was President of Minor Hockey, helped with the 4-H club and was also fire guardian for the Village of Margaret for a number of years.  They enjoyed living in Margaret and were very happy raising their 4 children there.

In August 1973 Dad began work in Killarney at Hartwell’s Tom Boy.  In October of that same year he moved his home and family to Killarney. Dad loved the many customers he met and could see so much potential in all his co-workers, and they in turn had many fun times with him, plus they respected him.  Dad and Mom also purchased the trailer park from Lorne Voodre, and renamed it L & M Trailer Park.  They got to know all of the tenants of the park very well.  They played so many pranks on each other and again made many treasured friendships.  Dad was a member of the Killarney Fire Department for a number of years.  He was on the Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of the Killarney Legion. After leaving the Tom Boy, Dad made a career change working for Garth Nichol at the Killarney Funeral Home.  This proved to be one of the best things to happen to Dad.  He embraced his new job, loved meeting new people, and assisting at the funeral services.  Probably the most important thing to come from this job was the deep respect and friendships he made with the Nichol family.

Dad and Mom loved to travel and never missed taking us on a holiday every summer.  They traveled to B.C., Alberta, Ontario and took numerous trips through the U.S.  We always looked forward to our May long weekends at the Wilbee cottage and camping in Manitoba.  But the highlight was spending time at our family cabin at Oak Shore Acres on Pelican Lake.  Mom and Dad loved it when we would come home for the weekends, especially with the grandchildren.  We enjoyed boating, swimming, campfires and spending time together.  So much fun!  The last trip Mom and Dad took was to Palm Springs in March of 1994.  Sadly, in April of that year Mom passed away.

In 1998 Dad married Joyce Wesley.  Dad especially enjoyed living at the lake and made many friends at Oak Point.  Dad and Joyce were members of the Elks Club and Dad took pride in being caretaker of the Elks Hall.  Dad and Joyce spent 10 winters in Texas and treasured every one of those years.  They made so many friends throughout Canada and the U.S.  In 2016 Dad and Joyce moved into the Legion Plaza where they enjoyed the last 7 years.  Dad never missed an opportunity to go uptown to shop, mostly to visit with everyone in the stores and he even got the odd hug.  Dad and Joyce loved to go for drives around Killarney and would sometimes pick up lunch at the Beach Hut, sit down at the park and watch the kids at the splash park and of course visit with whomever would come along.

Dad was a jack of all trades.  There wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix! He was always willing and happy to help anyone and especially his kids if we needed something fixed or done.  He would come with his carpenters apron on and have his hammer in hand and go right to work.

Family was the most important thing in Dad’s life. He was very proud of us and everything we accomplished and never failed to tell us that.  Dad loved it when we could all be together, playing games and laughing.  We had so many laughs! And the stories he had!  Dad loved his 6 grandsons dearly and was a happy great grandparent to his 4 great grandchildren.  They never went to Great Grandpa’s without getting ice cream or a treat.

We are going to miss our Dad dearly.  We loved his stories, how much he was willing to help any of us, and we loved helping him also.  We treasured the time we spent with him.

Dad is survived by his wife Joyce, daughters Myrna (Richard) Dyck, Cathy (Russell) Andrews,  sons Ken (Irene), Marvin (Kim). Grandsons Scott (Carrie), Wade, Kevin (Jael), Blair, Jason (Ashley) and Garret.  Great Grandchildren Ashton, Lux, Marshall and Ben. Step Son Dean Wesley and his family.  Sisters Euniece Wilbee and Wilma Robertson, sister in law Grace Blanchard.  Numerous nieces and nephews.