Eddie Zacharias

Today, with a hug and a prayer, we say "bye for now" to Eddie “Ed” Zacharias — beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and friend. Ed passed away on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at Clover House, Swift Current, SK after a courageous fight against pancreatic cancer.

Ed is survived by his wife of 60 years, Erna (Stehr); his five children, Des (Ann) Zacharias (Sylvan Lake, AB), Darwin (Valerie) Zacharias (Saskatoon, SK), Darryl (Cindy) Zacharias (Grandora, SK), Deana Zacharias (Kelowna, B.C.), and Dawnell (Barry) Wiebe (Swift Current, SK); his ten grandchildren, Kerry (Emily) Zacharias, Clayton Zacharias, Kristen Zacharias, Brette (Bryan) Cain, Amanda Zacharias, Brandon Zacharias, Caitlin (Damien) Zacharias, Randy Zacharias, Morgan Wiebe, and Emmit Wiebe; his five great-grandchildren, Dallas and Sophie Cain, Indy and Ari Zacharias, and Jacqueline Villeneuve; his brother, Dave (Verdella) Zacharias; his sister, Anne Dyck; and by many nieces and nephews.

Ed was predeceased by his grandson, Colton Zacharias; his parents, Abrahm & Margaret Zacharias; his sisters Margaret Wall and Susie Martens; and by his brothers, Abe, John, Pete, and Frank Zacharias.

Eddie “Ed” Lee Zacharias was born April 10, 1940 in Swift Current to Abrahm & Margaret Zacharias, the youngest of nine children. He grew up on the family farm near McMahon, SK and attended school there as well. Ed would often share stories of walking three miles to school carrying his syrup pail with lard sandwiches. In winter, if the weather was bad, they would take a horse and bobsleigh.

As a young boy Ed was a passionate hockey player — fast, tough and hard to catch. A newspaper article still hangs on the wall in McMahon school describing how Ed scored three goals in a game against Neville. As he got older there was not much time for hobbies or pastimes, but he did develop a love for curling. The kids spent many an evening in the curling rink in Swift Current running around, begging for chocolate bars and pop.

After school, Ed joined his brother Dave's construction crew and early on was promoted to supervisor, in charge of a twenty-five-man crew. Eventually he went out on his own, doing many other jobs including auctioneering, real estate, reflexology, and even managing a gas station. He always returned to his two great loves though, which were building houses and farming.

His other great love came into his life in the summer of 1959 when he met Erna Stehr. Ed & Erna were married on July 9, 1960 and life got very busy after that, with the arrival of three boys within three and a half years. Four years after the boys came the first daughter, and then seven years later daughter number two showed up and the family was complete. The early years were busy with Ed farming and building houses and Erna taking care of the home, the kids, and filling Ed with homemade bread.

From an early age, Ed would attend Sunday School with his sister, Anne, who was a Sunday School teacher. They would either walk the three miles to church, or if Anne took her bike she would place Ed on her handlebars. Later on in life, Ed & Erna were baptized and recommitted their lives at the Zion Mennonite Church in Swift Current. When asked about his faith, Ed's words were that he “had many ups and downs, and a lot of time on his knees.” When we looked through his Bible, there was no doubt Ed was a man of faith and loved to spend time reading his Bible.

In later years, Ed enjoyed doing a few building projects, spending time with family, and travelling with Erna. He will be greatly missed but he now resides in glory with his Saviour and friend Jesus, where there is no pain or sorrow but joy everlasting.

The Private Family Funeral Service for Eddie Zacharias was held on Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 1:00 pm from Church of the Open Bible, Swift Current, SK with Pastor Jay Hinds officiating. The eulogy was given by Darwin Zacharias.

The Interment Service was held from the Schantzenfeld Cemetery, Schantzenfeld, SK with Des Zacharias, Darwin Zacharias, Darryl Zacharias, Randy Zacharias, Dawnell Wiebe, and Dennis Zacharias serving as Pallbearers. 

The service was recorded and will be posted as soon as possible.

In memory of Eddie Zacharias, donations made to the Open Bible Mission Center 715 – The Great Commission Foundation (Box 14006, Abbotsford, BC, V2T 0B4 or gcfcanada.com) would be appreciated by the family.

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