Obituary: Erdman (Ed) Henry Zacharias

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Jun 2
3 min read

Erdman Zacharias, 82, of Morden Manitoba died on May 18, 2025 at the Boundary Trails Hospital. He was born on January 13, 1943 to Peter S. Zacharias and Aganetha (Penner) Zacharias.

Ed grew up on the family farm and graduated from the Mennonite Collegiate Institute. Ed met the love of his life, Susan Irene Peters. They were married in Rosenort, Manitoba on August 27, 1966. They had three children, Stephen, Michael and Julia.

He attended the University of Manitoba and graduated initially with a Bachelor of Arts in 1967. He then attended and graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Nursing degree in 1974.

Ed served as a nurse in multiple communities. Initially he worked in The Pas, Manitoba followed by Winkler, Manitoba.

He also served as a pastor in at the Reinland EMMC, Manitoba as well as in Mexico.

While in Mexico, Ed carried on with his passion for Low German translation work. This had been a lifelong pursuit, however, here he had a chance to work on the translation of the Old Testament.

Ed is survived by his wife Susan, his son Stephen, daughter Julia (Katharine), two grandchildren Chelsea (Travis) and Josie (Daniel), and three great grandchildren Shayne, Raylan and Linkin.

Ed was predeceased by his son, Michael, his parents, many relatives and friends.

A private burial was held at the Reinland cemetery on May 22, 2025. A Celebration of Life was held on May 31, 2025 at the Morden Alliance Church, Manitoba.

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Reflection

By James Peters, Pastor, Winkler EMMC

As I think about my relationship with Ed Zacharias I have to go way back in my memory bank, back to my early teen years. I got to know the Zacharias family when they moved to Reinland approximately 45 years ago. Their son Michael was my age. He and I became friends quickly and spent a fair bit of time together.

In those early years I knew Ed, Pastor Ed, Mr. Zacharias, Michael’s dad, it all depended on the location and event in which we were together. In later years Ed very politely asked me to call him Ed. I believe this happened after my wife, Darlene and I purchased Ed and Susan’s home in Reinland while they were serving in Mexico.

During the early years of Ed being the pastor at Reinland EMMC in southern Manitoba, a lot of things seemed very new to me as my family had moved from a conservative church to the Reinland EMMC about five years earlier. The clear Bible teaching and freedom to discuss biblical teachings was new to our family and Pastor Ed was instrumental in that learning process. I remember my dad asking Pastor Ed if he could use smaller words so that he could understand better. Pastor Ed listened; however, he continued to use those big words, but from then on, he also took time to explain those words.

I also remember how gracious Ed was in how he taught and explained things, both in his home and in the church. This has had a lasting impact on my life. In Ed and Susan’s home I witnessed a different way, a gentler way of interacting with family members than I had known.

A milestone in my life was when Pastor Ed, baptized me upon the confession of my faith in Jesus on May 29 of 1988.

I recall that Ed was excited for me when I graduated from Bible college and entered pastoral ministry and spoke words of encouragement to me when the opportunities arose. In recent years this would most often be at a funeral at which I was officiating and he attended. The conversations were not long, but always an encouragement.

The last time I saw Ed was in December of 2024, Susan was in the hospital and I happened to see them there. I stopped and chatted with them and the first thing they wanted to know is how I and my family were doing. And when I left the room Susan made sure to remind me that they prayed for me regularly.

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