Daniel Thiessen

On May 10, 2025 at his seasonal campsite, Daniel John Thiessen passed away at the age of 71 years.

He leaves to mourn his Pumpkin, the love of his life, Elsie, three children and their spouses – Michelle and Brendan Wiebe, Chad and Rachel Thiessen and Sheri and Kenny Siemens. Nine grandchildren that he was very proud of – Abigail, Callie, Wyatt, Ethan, Raya, Noah, Griffin, Ella and Bowen. He also leaves behind his 1 brother and 3 sisters along with many brother and sister-in-laws.

Dad was predeceased by his parents, William H. (Bill) and Katherine Thiessen, 3 brother-in-laws and 1 still-born daughter.

Dad was born on October 14, 1953, in Altona. He grew up on the farm north of Rosenfeld and lived on the same yard until they moved to Altona in 2007. He was baptized at the Kronsweide Sommerfeld Church on June 10, 1973. Over the years, he served the church as a Sunday School teacher and on the church board.

Dad had 3 sisters and one brother. He was the middle child and loved to terrorize his younger sisters. We have heard about many memories of him on his bike, burning out a set of tires in one weekend on his car, and blowing things up at a nearby vacant yard. He loved his siblings very much.

In spring of 1975, he met Elsie Dueck and on July 31, 1976, they were married. After Mom & Dad were married, they lived on the farm and started farming with his brother Dave and brother-in-law Henry. After a few years, Dad and Dave continued farming together under their company, Diversified Farming Corp. Dad supplemented the grain farming with a hog barn and construction work with Pete Martens. 2004 was Dad’s last year of farming, and in 2005 he started working as a crop adjuster with Manitoba Crop Insurance. This was his “retirement” job, but he put as many hours in as he did on the farm. This is where he started giving farmers exact times to meet, so they would not forget and he continued with these exact times for the rest of his life. So, it would only seem fitting that his funeral should be at 2:07 pm. He worked as an adjuster for 10 years and officially retired in 2015.

When we were younger, we enjoyed many camping trips and weekends away with extended family and friends. We can still hear the laughter of the adults as they were playing cards around the table and conversations around the fire.

Dad and Mom enjoyed traveling starting with their honeymoon to Vancouver. They loved road trips visiting family in other provinces and various tourist destinations in the States. They went to Australia and many trips south – Dominican Republic and Mexico. In 2016, they purchased property in Mesa, Arizona and spent the winters there until 2024. They developed so many close friendships with people from Tower Point – and enjoyed their company golfing, playing shuffle, dottie-ball and many card games.

In January of 2024, they took the family on one final trip to Mexico. The 17 of us had a fabulous week in the sun. From there, Dad & Mom headed south for a few months in Arizona arriving back in Altona at the end of March. Two weeks later, Dad suffered a massive heart attack which caused extensive heart damage. Dad was told that any improvement to his heart function would happen in the first 3 months and this gave him a goal to work hard toward. He got back to golfing, walking with Mom and pedalling on his stationary bike. Unfortunately, the damage was too much and he continued to suffer setbacks over the next year.

Retirement brought many… many… many rounds of golf (more than mom ever knew). He would golf with anyone available making many connections with people over the years. He loved the challenge of improving his game – competing with himself more than others. We got to enjoy many rounds with him.

He instilled a strong work ethic in all (or most) of us. He taught us to work hard and give it our best in all we do. Before starting our first jobs, he sat down with us and told us to put in the most effort. He was our biggest cheerleader and was so very proud of all of our accomplishments – including his grandchildren. We each pretty much received daily phone calls and check-ins to see how we were doing.

Dad never did anything half-way. Whether it was how much pepper he used on his food, next level coffee consumption, his love for all food – especially bologna and the way he worked.

A very common sight in the mornings was seeing Dad with his bible and reading his devotions. He had a strong, quiet faith, and greatly believed in the power of prayer. His faith set an example for all of us.

One thing Dad was always known for was his sense of humour and sarcasm. He had quick remarks in almost every conversation and truly loved making people laugh. He used humour to make heavy situations a bit lighter. Many people were uncertain if he was joking or serious. Many times, this last year while we were having serious conversations about his health, he would make cringe-worthy comments making the situation a bit more bearable but uncomfortable at this same time. Even though he had the biggest sense of humor, he was also stubborn and hard-headed at times – set in his ways.

Dad was not a quiet man – he did things loudly – sneezing, talking, laughing. He had weird words for things and nicknames for everyone.

Dad was generous in so many ways – the many family trips that we were given, the time and knowledge he gave on so many projects that we had at our homes. He freely gave so much time to his grandkids – delighting in spending time with them, watching them doing things they loved, and playing all types of games with them.

Thank you to the medical staff this last year, the paramedics for their compassion and care and Wiebe Funeral Home for the help with arrangements.

Dad worked hard, played hard, loved big and lived very intentionally. He impacted everyone around him and made an impression wherever he went. The last year was very hard on him, filled with many health struggles and changes, but we’re happy he’s relieved from the limitations his body placed on him and he’s now healed and whole with Jesus. We love and miss you, Dad.

A celebration of Dan's life was held on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 2:07 p.m. at the Altona EMM Church. Interment took place prior to the service at the Altona Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Dan may be made to the Boundary Trails Health Centre Foundation, or to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Click on the video link below to view the celebration of life.