Alfred Tessmann

Alfred Tessmann was born in Poland on April 15, 1940, to Emma and Edmund Tessmann. He was the 7th of 9 children. When Alfred was 5 years old, his family ended up in Germany due to World War II. Times were difficult in Germany, and his family decided to emigrate to Canada when he was 11 years old. One of Alfred's first jobs was working at his cousin's greenhouse in Redcliffe, Alberta, and it was this job which started Alfred's love of growing things and eventually led to his love of farming. He attended the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary in 1958, where he was enrolled in the carpentry apprenticeship program. Alfred graduated at the top of his class. However, the carpentry workforce turned out to be not what Alfred expected, and he began to consider other career options as a result. By this time all of Alfred's younger brothers had graduated from high school. Alfred's father had always wanted to fulfill his dream of coming to Canada to own a farm and fortunately, Alfred turned out to be the perfect candidate to start farming with his parents in Rolling Hills, Alberta.

In 1972, Alfred met and married, Karin Nannt. They were blessed with 3 children: Rudi, Ericka and Adam. The family attended Faith Lutheran Church in Rolling Hills. For many years Alfred served on the grazing association and gas coop boards. The family had many memorable summers at Radium Hot Springs and later skiing in the Rockies.

In 2002, with all of their children having grown up and moved away from the farm, it was time to make a big change and retire from farming, leading to Alfred and Karin selling their farm and moving to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to be closer to Ericka and Rudi, who were already living there. The goals for Alfred and Karin in retirement were very simple - they wanted to volunteer, spend time with their children, and travel. Alfred volunteered for many Christian organizations in Canada and abroad. Alfred and Karin enjoyed travelling to numerous destinations in North America, they even did winter RVing in British Columbia with friends. They also enjoyed many trips to Europe to visit family in Norway and Germany. One of the more recent trips was their 14 day River Cruise in Europe, which they both really enjoyed.

Alfred enjoyed and cherished his special times with his grandchildren. Playing hide and seek, Thomas the Train, mini sticks, and working on special projects with his Norwegian grandchildren and attending many of his grandchildren's sporting activities were some of his favorite activities which he enjoyed following his retirement.

Alfred loved to help each of their children with special projects in their homes. Alfred was able to use many of his building skills in these projects, with his hard work and expertise always appreciated.

As Alfred's health deteriorated, two special people, Ina and Karla, entered his life journey. They spent many hours with Alfred doing puzzles, playing Ping Pong and showing kindness and compassion to him. Ina became very handy at maneuvering the sketchy street conditions around Luther Special Care Home when she took Alfred out to enjoy some fresh air.

Alfred's family would like to express our thanks for the kindness and compassionate care Alfred received from the wonderful staff at Luther Special Care Home.

Alfred is survived by his loving wife, Karin, children: Rudi & Chantelle of Martensville, Ericka & Jeremy of Regina, and Adam & Hildegunn of Norway, along with his grandchildren: Matthew, Hannah, Emma, Isabelle, Jacob, Peder and Brayden. Alfred is also survived by his younger brother Karl.

Interestingly enough, water has always played an important part in Alfred's life as he has always lived near a river in Canada, Alfred had lots of fun as a youth near the river in Redcliffe, Alberta. Recognizing the importance of irrigation for farming in Rolling Hills, while also enjoying spending peaceful times near the waterfall in Homersak, Norway and many hours biking with his wife along the river in Saskatoon all helped lead to water playing an important role in Alfred's life. Therefore, his family found it very fitting to celebrate Alfred's life in a private family ceremony beside the flowing South Saskatchewan River at some point in the future to help recognize his love of water. Karin also plans to travel to Norway at a later date to celebrate Alfred's life with Adam, Hildegunn and the grandchildren, along with their Norwegian friends.

Alfred was a member of Rock of Ages Church in Saskatoon. He was an active volunteer in the church. He was dedicated to keeping the church building in good working order and earned himself the name "Spider Man" by the other church volunteers. This was due to his sure footedness and absolutely no fear of heights.

Alfred was blessed by God with a life filled with a wonderful family and good friends.

Our family would like to thank Pastor Sean Boolsen, pianist Audrey Hagen and all the members of the Rock of Ages Church who were so incredibly helpful in organizing this special day to celebrate Alfred's life. We are extremely grateful for the wonderful love shown to us!

In memory of Alfred, please consider making a donation to Rock of Ages Church, 130 Kingsmere Place Saskatoon, SK S7J 3V7.

On behalf of our family, we would like to thank you all for attending this service in honour of Alfred. We truly appreciate everyone being here to help celebrate Alfred's life, and hope that you will be able to join us after the service for a luncheon in the Fire Side Room. We look forward to visiting with you all!