Epp, Henry W. (1889-1965)
Henry W. Epp: physician; born 6 March 1889 in Altona, Manitoba, the fourth of nine children born to Peter P. Epp (6 December 1864, Schoenfeld, Bergthal Mennonite Settlement, South Russia – 1953, Yarrow, British Columbia, Canada), and Katharina (Wiebe) Epp (6 November 1863, Heuboden, South Russia – 27 August 1896, Manitoba, Canada). After his mother’s death, Henry’s father Peter married Maria (Doerksen) Dyck (24 May 1868, Schoeneberg, Chortitza Mennonite Settlement, South Russia – 4 February 1947, Matsqui, British Columbia), and six children were added to the family. Henry married Katharina "Tina" Spenst (23 February 1900, Langdon, North Dakota – 1979, Alberta), daughter of Gerhard Spenst (1867-1949) and Elisabeth (Veer) Spenst (1869-1946) on 9 March 1919 in Waldheim, Saskatchewan. Henry died 6 February 1965 in Mountain View-Kneehill Hospital in Didsbury, Alberta, where he was buried.
Henry’s father joined the Bergthaler Mennonite Church of Manitoba in 1907 and was ordained for ministry in 1911. Henry was baptized in 1910. Details on his personal life are rather scarce. The Chilliwack Progress (3 March 1965) reported that Dr. Henry Epp held the degrees of B.SC., M.D., C.M., and L.M.C.C. Before becoming a medical doctor, Henry had teaching positions in several schools, including the public school in Didsbury, Alberta. He received his medical degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Dr. Epp practised in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia from 1935 to 1942. He arrived in Chilliwack, British Columbia in 1935 and worked at the Chilliwack General Hospital. That same year he contracted with Yarrow Mennonites who had developed a health care plan for their community, the Bethesda Mennonite Health Society. The 12 December 1935 edition of The Chilliwack Progress reported that Mennonites in Yarrow were "considering the advisability" of establishing a hospital in Yarrow or nearby. Dr. Epp, according to the report, would likely be in charge. It appears that hospital was too great an undertaking for a small community, and instead Yarrow Mennonites instituted a Health Society, for which families were charged a fee of $12 per year. Families in need were subsidized by either of the two churches in town, Yarrow Mennonite Brethren Church or Yarrow United Mennonite Church. Any patients requiring hospital care were taken to Chilliwack Hospital. Dr. Heinrich Epp came to Yarrow one day a week to see his patients.
In 1942 Epp left the Fraser Valley and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, serving at the rank of Captain. He lived in Camp Borden, Ontario for an unestablished period of time and received his discharge in September 1944.
Henry opened a medical office in Calgary in October 1944 and in March 1945 relocated to Didsbury, where he opened up a medical office in the town. In July 1947 Epp was appointed to serve as the coroner for the Didsbury area.
Dr. Epp died after a lengthy illness and is buried in Didsbury Cemetery.
Bibliography
Calgary Herald (21 October 1944).
The Chilliwack Progress (12 Dec. 1935); (4 Nov. 1942); (3 Mar. 1965).
Didsbury Pioneer (15 March 1945); (30 July 1947).
Fretz, Winfield. "Recent Mennonite Community Building in Yarrow." Mennonite Quarterly Review (January 1944): 5-21.
GRanDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 24-04a ed. Fresno, CA: Mennonite Genealogy Inc., 2024: #733429.
Gerbrandt, Joyce. "Dr. Henry Epp." Personal e-mail to Katie Harder (27 April 2021).
| Author(s) | Richard D Thiessen |
|---|---|
| Date Published | April 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Thiessen, Richard D. "Epp, Henry W. (1889-1965)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2024. Web. 30 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Epp,_Henry_W._(1889-1965)&oldid=178707.
APA style
Thiessen, Richard D. (April 2024). Epp, Henry W. (1889-1965). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 30 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Epp,_Henry_W._(1889-1965)&oldid=178707.
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