ERWIN POHL

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ERWIN POHL

February 17, 1941 - April 11, 2026

On a sunny spring morning, Erwin Pohl, our loving husband, dad, opa, brother, uncle and friend passed away peacefully surrounded by family.

He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by his wife of 41 years, Myrna (nee Koop), daughters Kim and James Zacharias, Melanie and Guy Gaudreau; grandchildren Adrian and Raven with daughter Grayce-lin; Bailey; Alyssa; Christian Zacharias with Vanessa Friesen; older brothers Harry and Anne, Rubin and Pauline and many extended Pohl, Koop and Paetkau relatives and friends.

Erwin immigrated from Germany to Minitonas, MB in 1948 with his mother and six of seven siblings to start life anew. Family who had settled there 20 years prior welcomed them with open arms. In 1954 he moved to Winnipeg’s West End. He became a proud electrician in 1965, eventually gaining employment with Manitoba Hydro at the Dorsey Converter Station in Rosser, MB until his retirement in 1999 after 27 years.

Erwin married Hilde Paetkau in 1966, and they were overjoyed when Kim and then Melanie were born. After 15 years of marriage, Erwin and the girls lost their wife and mother to breast cancer in 1981.

A few years later he found happiness again with Myrna and she embraced this instant family. His life was filled with family (he and Myrna loved being Opa and Oma), church life, cheering on the Jets, tinkering, thrifting and traveling to Hawaii, Jamaica, Cuba and cruises to the Caribbean, Panama Canal and Alaska. He most enjoyed car journeys coast to coast in Canada and much of the USA and especially numerous winters with weeks spent in Pharr, Texas.

Erwin’s entire family wishes to express its appreciation of support from the River East Access doctors, especially Dr. Sasha Thiem, WRHA Home Care Co-Ordinator Ed Andrusiak, health care aides and respite workers, Concordia Adult Day Club Staff, doctors, nurses and support staff of Concordia Hospital Urgent Care, 3 East and N1 North wards.

We will gather to celebrate Erwin’s life with a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 20, 2026, at River East Church 755 McLeod Ave.

Zoom link: https://app.zoom.us/wc/join Meeting ID: 881 3854 6404

Passcode: Pohl

In keeping with his wishes, Erwin has been cremated, with interment in Elmwood Cemetery at a future date.

Donations can be made online at Lions Housing Centres Inc. c/o Concordia Adult Day program in memory of Erwin Pohl. www.lhc.ca

In care of arrangements

Tributes: friendsfs.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 18, 2026