Harold Remus Obituary

Name: Visitation for Harold Remus
Start: 2020-11-02T19:00:00.000Z
End: 2020-11-02T21:00:00.000Z
Location: Erb & Good Family Funeral Home - Waterloo

Harold Remus

1928 - 2020

Harold E. Remus, 92. Professor, Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University; adjunct professor, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary; Director, Wilfrid Laurier University Press; Executive Officer, Council on the Study of Religion; President, Canadian Society of Biblical Studies. Prior to moving to Waterloo with his family in 1974, translator/editor at Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, Switzerland; book editor, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, PA; assistant pastor, Messiah Lutheran Church, Princeton, N.J.

Great Falls High School (Montana). B.A., University of Minnesota. M.Div., Concordia Seminary (St. Louis, MO). Göttingen University (Germany) Fulbright Scholarship. Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania.

Author of articles in scholarly journals, encyclopedias, and Bible dictionaries and of chapters in scholarly and general interest books. Author/co-author of books in the academic study of religion and biblical studies, one of which was published in a Korean edition. Editor/co-editor of scholarly and general interest books. Managing editor, Council on the Study of Religion Bulletin and of Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses; founding managing editor of Religious Studies Review. In retirement edited the newsletter of the WLU Retirees Association. Active in adult education, St. Marks Lutheran Church, Kitchener. Worked for full inclusion of LGBTQ2SIA+'s In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Taking part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a signal event in his life.

Survived by his wife Alice Croft, daughter Elise Burns (Allan Sweeney) and her children Laurie (Carlo Condarcuri) and Joseph Burns, and his son Justin. Predeceased by his first wife Carolyn (Zalman) Remus and his parents Gustav and Wilhelmina Remus, brother Leonhardt, sisters Adoline Seidler/Preputin, Edna von der Vor, Lydia Marten, and nieces Lenora Lou Remus and Lynne Remus. Survived by nieces and nephews Leon Remus, Sharon (Frampton); Clark Marten (Rachel), Nadeen Kovanda (née Marten), Faye Johnson (née Marten); Robert Seidler, Betty MerryLees (née Seidler), Gail Morhardt (née Seidler), and their children and grandchildren.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, to attend the visitation and service for Harold, personal face coverings are required, and relatives and friends must register (RSVP) by calling the funeral home at 519-745-8445. Visitation will be held at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo on Monday, November 2, 2020, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The funeral service will be held at Trillium Lutheran Church, 22 Willow St, Waterloo on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 at 10:00 a.m., with the Rev. Elina Salonen officiating. For those wishing to attend, Harold's service may be viewed livestream by visiting the funeral home at http://hawkeyefilms.ca/in_memory_of/Harold-Remus.html. Burial will take place at a later date when family can gather.

Condolences for the family and donations to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives may be arranged by contacting the funeral home at www.erbgood.com or 519-745-8445.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Great Falls Tribune from Oct. 27 to Oct. 28, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for Harold Remus

Sponsored by Erb & Good Family Funeral Home - Waterloo.

7 Entries

Gisela Maasch (Seidler)

January 10, 2021

In loving memory of a wonderful person. We will love you and miss you always.

Betty (Seidler) Merrylees

November 5, 2020

My sincere condolences to Harold's immediate family. He sure looked like his older sister, Adoline (Remus) Seidler (Preputin), who was my Mom...

Uncle Harold was always furthering his education, always studying. One of the most humorous memories of Harold, was when his Mother, (my Grandmother), was asked where Harold was working. She replied, in German, while shaking her right arm in the air, "Ach du Himmel, Er arbeitet in einer Bibliothek!"... ("Oh Heavens, he works in a library!").
I said, "Grandma, he STUDIES at a library".... she responded with a grunt, "Ya, ya, ya, Ich nicht verstehe...und das glaube ich nicht", (roughly translated means), "Oh Heavens. I don't understand or believe that!"
I don't think my Grandma ever truly realized what a brilliant, highly educated, and religious man she had for a son.... she couldn't grasp that he was DR. Harold Remus.
May the imprint of his education be passed onto many generations to come.

Kay Koppedrayer

November 3, 2020

A beloved colleague, a dear friend, a scholar's scholar, an individual deeply committed to social justice, always an inspiration, Harold gave so much to so many. From the first day I met him to our last conversation, I never stopped learning from him. It is hard to believe he is gone, but he will live on in the gifts he gave us. Sure will miss him, though.

Helen Ramirez

October 28, 2020

Harold was the reason I leaped into the study of Religion and Culture and would later do my Ph.D at UT. I can still hear his voice from decades ago and feel his kind and generous support. In ways he never knew he was so important to the directions my life would take. Thank you Harold.

Alex Damm

October 26, 2020

Harold Remus is one of the most likeable and upstanding individuals whom I have had the privilege to know. His gracious treatment of all, his keen interest in others, his precision and eye for detail, his erudition and his remarkable conscientiousness, have influenced many people in the many settings where he contributed. I extend heartfelt sympathies to Harold's family on this sad occasion, but I speak for many when I say his spirit lives in and through everyone who would emulate his sincerity and goodness.

Michel Desjardins

October 26, 2020

Devoted to Alice, to his church and justice (even when they didn't accord with one another), to his students, to the academic study of religion, and to sound scholarship. Those are my memories of Harold in the years in which I had the good fortune to know him at Laurier. A scholar and honourable man until the day he died.

Tim Hegedus

October 26, 2020

Harold was one of the most remarkable people I have known. He was a brilliant scholar and a kind and generous friend, especially to those on the margins of society and of the church. I am deeply grateful for countless gifts of wisdom, support and encouragement I received from him over many years. To Alice and the rest of his family: please know that you are in my prayers as you mourn Harold's passing. Harold, I miss you already and I always will. May your memory be for a blessing!

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