Obituary

Axel Meyer

Axel Meyer died Sunday, September 18th, 2016. He was 64. He grew up in the wake of WWII. He spent hours collecting unexploded bombs with his friends, each earning a pittance when they reported or delivered the ordinance to someone in authority. He splashed in the murky water downstream from ex-bomb factories. He learned to be a journalist under the watchful eye of his dad. Axel’s job was to help typeset for his dad’s newspaper articles. Covered in lead and driven by the hope of a wink and a nod. Artistic and meticulous, his talents led him to New Jersey and then to a place called, Winnipeg, Canada. He married Dagmar and spent their life together raising 2 children, Dean, 29 and Nikki, 25. Many volumes could be written about their life together and how they let me be a part of it…I digress. Axel’s family spent 25 years in Altona. He kept himself busy running Chicken Delight(s), being a town councilor and an economic development officer. In 1986, he, along with Bernie Penner and George Wiebe began Promotex. He loved Altona. “Although, it could have been a little bigger and hiking trails a bit closer than a 14 hour drive away,” he would muse. Axel was not raised in a church but knew of a God and trusted Him. At the end of March 2016, Axel was admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove a large tumor on his bowels. Tests later determined that this cancer had already spread to this lungs and liver. In his calm demeanor (which never left him) and desire to deflect attention he would say, “I always knew that there was something not right in there.” Axel came home from the hospital in early April to recover from surgery and to be close to his family. Axel never liked pain-killers. He had such a soft heart, I’m certain the name ‘pain-killer’ was just too harsh and that he felt bad for the pain! They (pain-killers) always distracted his mind from what his body was trying to tell him. He strove to stay healthy by choosing foods that agreed with his digestive system, the one that had, “something not right in there”. In his last few weeks, the pain was unbearable and I am convinced that he took them to alleviate the pain from his family’s eyes that watched his body suffer. He was looking forward to seeing his dad in heaven. Mostly, since “My dad left many questions unanswered. Although, in my 30s, we spent some time together in the Whiteshell where he talked about what he went through as a soldier and a father.” A Celebration of Life service will be held in the middle of October at their home in Windsor, Nova Scotia. "Life is a vapor," says James in the New Testament. Axel’s time on earth was short. He spent his time wisely and left a legacy of goodwill and humility.

Bruce Penner