A Tribute to Henry Penner

On August 22, just three days prior to his 73rd birthday, Henry Arnold Penner slipped away peacefully to be with the Lord. He is survived by his loving wife Elsie of 50 years, daughter Cynthia and husband Jay Brooks, son Michael and wife Carrie Elrick, and his much loved granddaughters, Vivian and Lily Elrick Penner. Also mourning his loss are his siblings Catherine (Rita) Whiteley, Anita and husband Lyle Wahl, Alice and husband Michael Gro, Elaine and husband Edward Klassen, Louis and wife Ruth Ann Penner, Kim and husband Abe Dueck, and Dennis and wife Wendy Lee Penner, as well as many nieces and nephews. He will also be sorely missed by his brothers and sisters in law: Margaret and Patrick Burns, Peter and Sue Kehler, Katie Kehler, Helen and Bill Klassen, Neil and Eileen Kehler, and Marie and Henry Dueck and more nieces and nephews. A host of friends, from early school days to far away Asian work assignments, also mourn a friend who was a wonderful blend of warmth, fun, "smarts" and strength of character. He is predeceased by his parents Cornelius and Luise Wiens Penner.

Born in Regina, SK, Henry spent his formative years on a three acre farm in Yarrow, BC. There he developed his interest in hunting, fishing, and sports of all kinds. In the summers he worked for his father at Clearbrook Frozen Foods. After graduating from high school, he continued in a similar vein and attended Oregon State University; graduating in 1964 with a Bachelor's Degree in Food Science. During the summers of his university years, he continued to work at Clearbrook Frozen Foods with the fortunate, life-changing bonus of meeting his future bride in the company's quality control lab. They were married on December 27th 1964 following his graduation. After four years of working for Salada Foods (the new owners of his father's business), Henry and his little family moved to Kelowna to work with Sun-Rype Food Products, where he took great pride in developing and manufacturing renowned fruit and juice products.

His time with Sun-Rype also included extensive traveling to investigate and institute innovations to create new levels of product excellence. Following an exploratory trip to China to assess the feasibility of setting up a plant there, Henry retired after twenty-eight rewarding years. Building on the rich skills and experiences he had gained in the Okanagan, Henry took his expertise abroad to about thirty countries as a food manufacturing and business management consultant. In some of the most desperate places in the world, his role was to provide help to small manufacturers to successfully create and sell products that would, in turn, improve their own lives. Some of his favourite locales were the Philippines, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan. His stories of these trips invariably involved graphic details of the obscure foods that were served to him; nothing was too daunting for him to try. Elsie was able to accompany him on some of these trips and as a result they developed many dear friends who remain part of their lives. During these years of foreign consulting, Henry continued to be involved back home, providing guidance to the Community Futures Development Corporation of Central Okanagan.

Although Henry will be remembered through his leadership positions at work and in the churches he attended, he will be best remembered for his personal qualities: his quiet expression of faith and values, his integrity and strength, his sense of humour and fun. He loved his wife and family deeply, he treasured his life-long friends and enjoying a good meal came a close third.