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Reimer, Gilbert (1939-1974)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1974 Feb 28 p. 3
Birth date: 1939
text of obituary:
Both Natives of Manitoba
Steinbach, Man. — Two missionaries who were natives of this southeastern Manitoba area, both in their 30s and the fathers of small children, were killed recently in Panama and Nigeria.
Gilbert Reimer, 35, of Steinbach died under mysterious circumstances in Panama between Feb. 11 and 13, and Leonard Dyck, 31, a native of Stuartburn, man., was killed Feb. 7 when his missionary plane crashed near Jos, Nigeria.
The badly mutilated body of Mr. Reimer, a missionary in Panama since 1962 under the Gospel Missionary Union, was found floating in a cove in the Panama Canal Zone on Sunday night, Feb. 17. Circumstances of his death were unknown, but a spokesman for the GMU said "Robbery apparently was not a motive. . . . His wallet, ring and watch were still there."
The External Affairs Department, Ottawa, ordered an inquest into his death.
Mrs. Ben L. Reimer and son Lawrence, mother and brother of the deceased, were visiting in Panama at the time of the tragedy, while a brother Clifford also is a missionary in Panama. Ben L. Reimer, the father, was on a trade mission in Rio de Janeiro and returned to Panama. Funeral services were held in Panama City on Feb. 21.
Mr. Reimer also leaves his widow, the former Jean Little, and two children, Glen, 10, and Betty Lou, 7. A memorial service is to be held early in March at the Evangelical Mennonite Church here, of which Mr. Reimer was a member.
Mr. Dyck, who had served as a bush pilot for the Sudan Interior Mission since 1969, took an overhauled plane on a test flight Feb. 7 and failed to return. The downed plane was spotted about 10 miles from Jos on Feb. 12 and Dyck's body was recovered the next day.
A largely attended memorial service took place Sunday afternoon, Feb. 17, at the Stuartburn Gospel Chapel. The funeral and burial were on Feb. 14 in Jos.
Survivors include the widow, the former Luella Harder, and two young daughters, Kimberly and Kendra; his mother, Mrs. Jacob (Katherine) Dyck of Stuartburn; three brothers and three sisters.
