It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of W. Orville Andres on April 11 in Saskatoon. Orville is predeceased by his parents Henry and Hilda, siblings Don and Dorothy (Jake), son Brian, and sister-in-law Darlene. He is survived by Katherine, his wife of 63 years, his brother Eugene, sister Elma (Rupert), children Bevin and Barry (Ruth) and grandchildren Ryan (Angie) and Caitlyn (Mark) along with many nieces and nephews.

Orville was born on May 7, 1930 to Henry and Hilda Andres in the Rosthern area. The following year the family moved to their homestead in Meadow Lake where he experienced the joys and challenges of growing up homesteading. After attending Swift Current Bible School he married his lifelong partner Katherine Loeffler in 1955 and took up farming in Kindersley. He responded to God’s call for service in 1962 and left the farm to work with communities in northern Manitoba with Native Ministries until 1966. With three boys, he returned to school at CMBC (now CMU) in 1966 and then moved to Prince Albert as pastor of Grace Mennonite Church in 1968. While in Prince Albert he later established the Person To Person restorative justice program and served as prison Chaplain. His joy and passion in the work was nurtured by the many committed volunteers and participants he got to meet and fellowship with. Katherine also joined the work, providing administrative support which, was a highlight of their work. Orville retired from this work in 1994 but continued to value and nurture the relationships he established during these years. His value of being a good friend was never diminished by the other person’s beliefs and values even if different from his own. Orville loved nature and was thrilled to experience God”s creation with Katherine, friends and especially with youth.

A celebration of Orville's life will be held at Grace Mennonite Church in Prince Albert on Saturday April 28 at 1:30 pm.