Alvin Heppner was born on December 21, 1934 to Cornelius and Gertrude(Adrian) Heppner in the Waldheim, SK area. He was the youngest of five children,who grew up on a farm near Waldheim he attended the Danzig school. He completed his formal education at the Grade 8 level. Church happened at home with an uncle and his family joining them to listen to Christian radio programs, until Dad was 10. Farm life could be summed up in one word,"work” and his father was a hard task master.

At the age of 15, he decided he had had enough and left home on his bicycle with $13 in his pocket.For the next roughly 8 years, Alvin lived and worked in many places from Ontario to Alberta. His numerous jobs included herding sheep, farm hand, dairy farm,digging ditches, fixing potholes, replacing road signs, kitchen flunky, truck driving, and lumberjack. Alvin was now free of the rules and restrictions of his upbringing and the world was calling. Twice he was faced with a very clear decision to choose to follow God or the world. However, both times he deliberately chose God and never looked back.

While at the lumber camp Alvin and a few friends travelled to Red Deer for the weekends and church. He attended the Nazarene church there, which had a radio choir that he joined. There he met our mother, Gwen Marcella Kemery from High River, AB, who also sang in the radio choir. Their relationship grew and they married on April 22, 1957.

For their first few years, Dad had various trucking jobs in Calgary, Ponoka, and Lodgepole. During these unsettled years, four children were born: Walter ,Marcella, Evelyn, and Esther. In 1964 Dad & Mother purchased land west of Hoadley/Bluffton, AB where they began mixed farming. Mother worked at the Bank of Montreal in Rimbey to help with finances.

Dad had rough edges and was far from perfect, but I am thankful for all his efforts to raise us children to love God and live for Him. I am also very thankful for the strong work ethic we were raised with, that has helped us all in life. In 1978, due to various circumstances, Dad decided to move the family to Valleyview (New Fish Creek area). However, in 1980, Mother was diagnosed with cancer and after a 6-month struggle, she passed away on July 20, 1980. Dad was devastated, but persevered. For nine years Dad was alone, during which he was involved on the Sturgeon Lake Bible Camp board and was a trustee at Emmanuel Baptist Church. He worked several times at slashing jobs, saw his daughters married, and began to welcome grandchildren.

In 1989, he met Lavina Fairburn of Calgary, AB and they were married on October 21, 1989. Lavina brought new spark to his life, and he enjoyed 27 years with her. She lovingly cared for him through his many health difficulties, and they appreciated retirement relaxation. Together they welcomed many great grandchildren into the family. Then on January 19, 2017, Lavina died suddenly from a massive heart attack. Dad was again devastated and seemed to never recover from this shock, always feeling like he was “in a fog.”

In 2021 he moved to a cottage at the Finster farm. We just celebrated Dad’s 90th birthday on December 21st, at which time he was doing well. But by the following Thursday, he began having difficulty. It seemed his body was just giving up and after 5 days in Valleyview hospital, he passed away peacefully into his Saviour’s presence January 1, 2025. We will miss him, but we know he was longing to go to his heavenly home, so we also rejoice with him.

Alvin is survived by his children Walter Heppner, Marcella (Dale) Hufnagel; Evelyn (Jonathan) ;Siebert, Esther (Gerald) Finster; grandchildren Joanna (Paul) LeDrew (Sawyer & Titus), Sherri Hufnagel, Benjamin (Makayla) Hufnagel; (David), Andrew (Melissa) Siebert, Lois Eagles (Elianna), Timothy (Justine) Siebert (Ezra & Silas), Kyle (Kate) Finster (Emma, Hope, & Micah), Crystal (Chuck) Neufeld (Rayleigh, Brielle, Isla, & Jarrett), Kevin (Loreea) Finster (Anna, Svea, Renata, & Truett), Joshua (Ellie) Finster (Seth, Owen, & Joel); 20 great grandchildren; 2 cousins Verna & Leona Funk; 2 sisters-in-law Ruth (Heppner) Janzen, Jean (Kemery) Watkins; many nieces and nephews; and many great nieces and nephews He is predeceased by his first wife Gwen; second wife, Lavina; parents Cornelius & Gertrude Heppner; siblings Elsie Heppner, Gertrude Heppner, Cornelius (Irene) Heppner, and Oliver (Hulda) Heppner; 1 great grandchild Janessa Siebert.

A huge THANK YOU to each person who visited Dad in his loneliness, especially these past eight years! I cannot begin to name you all, including the grandchildren, who reached out to him.. He really did appreciate the visits.

A Funeral service will be held Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 11:00 am at Emmanuel Baptist Church 4914-49 St, Valleyview Alberta. Interment at Valleyview Cemetery January 7, 2025 at 2:00pm.