Bueckert, John Ralph (1949-1968)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1968 Sep 19 p. 6

Birth date: 1949 May 20

text of obituary:

Manitoba Youth, 19, Drowns in Lake

Winkler, Manitoba. — Funeral services were held at the Winkler M. B. Church in late August for Ralph Bueckert, 19, who lost his life in Shoal Lake east of Winnipeg.

The young man, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dave Bueckert, was serving on the maintenance staff of Pioneer Camp, an interdenominational camp. He was returning to camp alone by boat after a trip to Waugh, Man. when he ran into a storm. It is believed the boat hit an underwater reef. It was more than a week before the body was found.

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Mennonite Brethren Herald obituary: 1968 Sep 20 p. 24

text of obituary:

JOHN RALPH BUECKERT

On August 13, John Ralph Bueckert passed away suddenly by drowning as the result of a boating accident on Indian Bay in north-western Ontario. He was 19 years old and the son of Dave and Ella Bueckert of Winkler Man.

John Ralph Bueckert was born May 20, 1949 in in Winkler and was cherished by his parents as a gift of God. His early years were spent in Gnadenthal where his parents lived at the time. He took his early schooling in Gnadenthal, continued it in Winkler when his parents moved there and then continued in grade 10 and 11 in the Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna. Early in grade 12 he suffered a serious motorcycle accident and was forced to spend the greater part of a year in and out of the hospital, nine months of these with a cast on his leg. He continued his grade 12 the following year at the Garden Valley Collegiate in Winkler.

Ralph found Christ as his personal Saviour at a Janz Crusade in May, 1959. Last Christmas he attended the Urbana Missionary Convention and there rededicated his life to Christ. This commitment represented a new turn in his life and all that associated with him noticed the change. He also experienced renewed joys, hopes and desires.

For the summer he applied for a job on the maintenance staff at the IVCF Pioneer Camp and was accepted. The work gave him much satisfaction and he was much appreciated by campers and other staff for his faithful work. On Tuesday, August 13, he delivered another camper to the railway station at Waugh and on the return journey he met his Maker. It was stormy at the time and apparently the boat he was operating either hit a reef or was swamped by the waves. When he failed to return a search was organized but the body wasn't found till a week later when it surfaced.

Ralph leaves to mourn his early passing, Dave and Ella Bueckert; two brothers, Dennis and Ron; two sisters, Marilyn (Mrs. Ron Janzen) and Eleanor; grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kuhl and Rev. and Mrs. A. P. Bueckert; and many friends and relatives.