Obituary of Wilfred James Hiebert

It is with deep sadness we announce the death of our husband, dad, grandpa, brother and friend mere months after he was diagnosed with cancer. Wilf’s last few weeks were full of visits from and conversations with family and friends. Wilf is lovingly remembered by his wife Linda, and their children: daughter Lia (Ed), grandchildren Jarrod and Carly; son Wesley (Janine), granddaughters Julia and Sophie; daughter Amy; and daughter April (Dale), and grandson Finn. Wilf is survived by his brothers Gerald (Theresa), Murray (Eilis), and sisters Dolores (Don), Ellie, and Rosemary, sister-in-law Laura (Glen) and brother-in-law Dave (Carolyn) and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his brother Robert, parents Paul and Helen, brothers-in-law bp and Sam, and niece Sara Sam. Wilf was born in Humboldt, SK to Paul and Helen Hiebert and grew up in Bay Trail. He moved to Saskatoon to attend St. Paul's High School for two years. He then studied at the University of Saskatchewan (BSc, BAC) where he met and subsequently married his wife Linda. In his professional life, Wilf was respected for his human resources expertise, which ranged from career management, organizational development, compensation and benefits, executive search, job counselling and outplacement, and mediation and labour relations. He helped to bring the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation to the province and was one of the first in Saskatchewan to be awarded the Fellow CHRP designation. He helped many organizations in their darkest times through their transitions with a firm yet gentle hand. He worked with Cameco, SIAST, the City of Saskatoon, and the Saskatoon Health Region. He was a past member of the Work and Family Initiative and a board member of the Employee Assistance Program, U of S. Wilf travelled widely with Linda and visited 33 countries where he very much enjoyed trying new foods from different cultures, especially their desserts. He loved nature and the outdoors; working in his & Linda's garden; cooking, baking bread, and making wine; as well as history and politics. Wilf knew how to fix many things and was the go-to person in the family for various tools, glue, and shoe-care materials. He was an active member in the meditation, multi-faith, yoga, and Tai Chi communities of Saskatoon. Wilf also loved attending theatre productions at the various professional and independent theatre companies in and around Saskatoon, often in the company of family. Wilf will be remembered fondly for his kind and generous nature. Special thanks to Wilf's very good friend Barry Mahaffey and Wilf's massage therapist Carl Berry for their support and friendship. The family thanks the palliative care staff at St. Paul’s Hospital for their wonderful care. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the University of Saskatchewan with a note indicating that the funds be directed to support Greystone Theatre.