Obituary of Rudolph "Rudy" Els

The family of Rudy Els of the Theodore Health Centre and formerly of the Rhein District, beloved husband of the late Pauline Els, sadly announce his passing on Friday, September 17, 2021. He was 90 years of age. A Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 2:00 pm from the Christ Lutheran Church, Rhein, with Pastor Karen Stepko officiating. The interment will take place in the Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to Christ Lutheran Church (Box 156, Rhein, Sk., S0A 3K0) or to the Alzheimer Society of Sask. (301-2550 12th Ave., Regina, SK., S4P 3X1) as gifts of remembrance. Rudolph Els was born on September 8, 1931, son of Adam and Katherine (nee Starger) Els, in the Barvas District. At the age of two years, with his parents, they moved to a farm in the Wallace District, six miles SW of Rhein or thirteen miles NE of Yorkton. He was baptized and confirmed into the Lutheran faith in Rhein. Rudy received his education at the Wallace School. He would walk to school with snow drifts often as high as the telephone wires. In those days there were no roads, so travel even with horses was quite difficult, if not impossible. He would help with chores by feeding calves and carrying wood into the house (which was used to heat the house) in the mornings and evening before walking the two miles. His father bought a tractor, one of the first used to work the land. At the age of eight years, he spent many hours on the tractor before and after school. He loved the land and growing crops. He quit school at an early age. In his early years (winter time) they would travel by horses and sleigh or ride horseback to the neighbors for a few games of cards. He also attended many dances at the local schools and dance halls. He was very interested in local, provincial, federal and world affairs. Rudy was active in the 4H movement, which was started in the 1940's. Later he became leader of the Rhein & District Grain Club for many years. He served the community for a long time. He was chairman of the Rhein & District Telephone Company and was instrumental in amalgamating with the SaskTel network. He served on the Agriculture Extension District board for the RM of Wallace for many years and was elected to the Ag & Industrial Exhibition board of Yorkton. Rudy served in many committees and also was part of the people on the board during the formation of the Yorkton Agriplex. He was a member of the Rhein & District Lions Club as secretary for a number of years and also served as counsellor for the RM of Wallace for a decade and a half. He saw many roads built and improvements made in the community. He was inducted into the Yorkton Agricultural and Industrial Association Senate. Politics played a large part in Rudy's life. He was a dedicated Liberal and was a constituency president for many years. He received an honorary life membership from the party. Rudy's love for livestock played a large part in his life. Together with his two brothers they ran a livestock enterprise in the Togo District for nearly three decades. In the 60's he took over the family farm and began raising Hereford cattle, always improving the quality of his herd. He loved to make improvements in the yard by updating the buildings. He truly loved the land, always growing good quality grain. In his later years he enjoyed restoring old horse drawn equipment which he grew up with and also old tractors, mainly John Deere. Rudy and Pauline were married in 1985. They resided on the farm until 2016 when they moved into Yorkton. Rudy is predeceased by his parents, Adam and Katherine, wife Pauline, sister Doreen Els, niece Rhonda Els (in infancy), nephew Robert Els and great nephew Garret Mills. Left to cherish his memory are his brothers, Albert, Ken (Elaine), Gordon (Doris) and Edward, his sisters, Marj (Art) Freiheit and Beverly Mehling, nephews; Barry Els, Brent (Cheryl) Els, Greg (Cheryl) Els, Blair (Rachel) Mehling, nieces; Sherry (Blair) Haberman, Rhonda Werstroh, Gwen (Dave) Mills, Shelly Els, Carmen (Cory) Sasyniuk, Kim (Dean) Freiheit and Lori (Gordie) Kozushka. The Funeral Service was held on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, from Christ Lutheran Church, Rhein, Sask., with Rev. Karen Stepko officiating. The organist was Vange Shipowick and Ray Yost sang a solo. Special music was provided by Kim Freiheit. The honorary pall bearer was Ron Poppenheim. The interment followed in the Christ Lutheran Church Parish Cemetery with Greg Els, Brent Els, Jack Burkell, Clare Walsh, Gavin Konkel and Richard Purves serving as casket bearers. Memorials in memory of Rudy may be made to Christ Lutheran Church, Rhein or to the Alzheimer's Society of Sask. as gifts of remembrance. The family would like to thank the staff at the Theodore Health Centre for the excellent care they provided to Rudy during his stay there. Service Details. Service When: Tuesday, September 21st, 2021 2:00pm Location: Christ Lutheran Church - Rhein Address: Main St. RHEIN, SK S0A 3K0 Interment Location: Christ Luthern Church Cemetery Address: Main St. SE