Obituary of Jacob Unger

January 22, 1942 – June 30, 2013 Jake Unger passed away at his home in Mississauga, Ontario on June 30, 2013 of an apparent heart attack at the age of 71 years. Jake was born in the Hague, Saskatchewan area on January 22, 1942 to George and Mary Unger. Jake attended school in Hague. As is often the case growing up on a mixed grain and cattle farm, Jake learned to work hard and developed many skills at an early age, with a particular interest in construction. He assisted Dad and his brothers in building a new home on the family farm at age 15 and 16. Upon confession of his faith, Jake was baptized in the Hague Mennonite Church on July 14, 1963. At age 16 Jake joined the construction team building a new school in Hague and left a legacy of numerous commercial buildings which he worked on or supervised their construction, which includes bridges of the Idylwyld Freeway system, Marquis Towers in Saskatoon, numerous buildings in Vancouver, including the Ontario Pavilion for Expo 86, and many commercial buildings in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, including high rise buildings in downtown Toronto. Jake was the Construction Superintendent for many years with Bird Construction, retiring in 2007 after 49 years in commercial construction. Jake earned his Journeyman Carpenter Certificate through the apprenticeship program. Jake was very skilled at construction. Even though he did not have an engineering degree, he certainly understood and applied the construction engineering principles very well. He especially enjoyed working with the skilled tradespeople of European descent. There was a strong mutual respect and admiration for their respective skills. Jake enjoyed fishing and hunting. He wore out many a set of tires traveling to what were somewhat remote lakes in the Lac La Ronge area of Saskatchewan during the 1960’s and 70’s, and enjoying salmon fishing after he moved to Vancouver. One of his prize hunts was to harvest a goose for his grandpa Harms. Not sure who was more proud, grandpa or Jake! He also really enjoyed his deer hunting experiences in Saskatchewan and shared some of those stories just prior to his passing. Jake earned his private pilot license which included several endorsements including instrumentation and water landings. Since Jake was a bachelor, he turned that into an opportunity for him to hone his cooking skills. Jake could make a wonderful meal that was more than just ordinary food fare. Unfortunately later in life with the loss of his eye sight, he found it very difficult to cook and had to forego his love of cooking. While Jake remained single with no children, his nieces and nephews seemed to especially enjoy mutual teasing, joking and story-telling, and thus he had a large “family” and was very proud of each one of his nieces and nephews! Jake was predeceased by his parents, Mary and George Unger, one sister-in-law Lorraine Unger, and one brother-in-law Mike Fehr. He will be deeply missed, and is survived by brothers and sisters Albert Unger (Paulette Doucette) Saskatoon, Sask.; Harvey (Frieda) Unger, Hague, Sask.; Don (Naomi) Unger, Rabbit Lake, Sask; Alvin (Nora) Unger, Warman, Sask.; Ernie (Gloria) Unger, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Alice (Bob) Court, Hague, Sask., Reuben (Kathy) Unger, Clavet, Sask.; Hilda (Glen) Guenter, Hague, Sask.; numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins and friends. The family would like to extend a special thank you to Lori Harms-Gibson, her daughter Jill and companion Robert Gibson for their support, love and kindness and especially for all the times they were there for Jake. Your thoughtfulness and friendship is deeply appreciated! The Funeral Service for Jacob Arnold Unger will be held at Hague Mennonite Church on Monday, July 8 at 2:00 pm officiated by his brother, Reverend Don Unger and Reverend Artur Esau. Interment of his ashes will follow in the Hague cemetery. Memorial donations in memory of Jake may be made to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Box 767, Winnipeg, MB R3C 2L4. Arrangements are in care of Funk’s Funeral Home, Rosthern, SK (306-232-5245, www.funksfuneralhome.ca).