Leola Irene Rempel

Leola Irene Rempel

September 29, 1926 - November 18, 2022
With shiny, bouncing Shirley Temple curls, the little girl furiously pedaled her bicycle across the swinging bridge. Her little dog, Trixie, was not far behind. She loved the outdoors and later on ice danced with her partner while the other skaters cleared the pond and cheered. Leola and her best friend, Jeannie Manzuk, also had cozy times in the log cabin playhouse, complete with “just right” sized furniture and a wood-burning stove, all built by her mother. Leola Irene Seip, born in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada was Ralph and Hazel Seip’s only child. Ralph, a Canadian Pacific Railroad worker would be gone for long stretches, so care for her invalid mother fell to Leola when she was in high school. She must have loved working in health care, because Leola’s post-high school venture was taking nurses training. She excelled at the training. Her greatest regret in life was learning that after months of being ill due to allergic reactions from being around medicines prevented her from completing the course. Back in Swan River, Leola met Bill Rempel who was there as the Ag. Rep one summer. The separation when Bill went to Minnesota for his PHD degree, was difficult. In December, they met in Winnipeg and got married. Their temporary plan to stay in the US, changed when Bill was hired at the U of MN. They became Naturalized US citizens. Bill and Leola had two children. We children benefited from having a mother who knew how to safely send kids out to play in negative degree weather. She’d Vaseline our faces, and bundle us up from tip to toe, and outside we’d go! Leola was always mindful of how it felt in a foreign country, and took the wives of the foreign students and families under her wings. She welcomed the families into her home, and spent many hours showing the wives around the Twin City area. League of women Voters and Planned Parenthood were two of the organizations that benefited from Leola’s volunteer work. Leola was the driving force behind keeping Dave’s Service Station when the city had other plans for the corner location. Leola was always concerned about her neighbors on Belmont Lane. New comers were welcomed with fresh homemade buns or cinnamon rolls. She was there for neighbors when they needed someone to talk to, or needed a babysitter. One of her Bucket list to-dos was helping the Roseville police purchase police dogs. Leola bought two for them. Leola’s wish was to stay in her home as long as she possible could. With the amazing assistance from Touching Hearts, Leola stayed at Belmont lane until she was almost 96. Thank you so very much for helping Mom stay in the home she loved. Several severe nose bleeds abruptly changed her life. Leola spend her last several months at Sholom East. She enjoyed the activities and made several friends. After her 96th birthday, Leola declined rapidly. The people at Sholom East took excellent care of her, for which I am very grateful. Rest in peace, Mom. Love, Bonnie
Survived by her son, Barrie Rempel (Beverly); daughter, Bonnie Manuel (Victor), 5 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren and her very special friend, Maxine Enfield.

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