Obituary of Heinrich Frischknecht

At Wingham & District Hospital on Tuesday, October 8^th, 2024, Mr. Heinrich Jakob Frischknecht of Wingham passed away peacefully and surrounded by his family at the age of 85.

Beloved husband of Agnes Frischknecht for 61 years. Devoted dad of Marlen Tinner-Frischknecht of Switzerland and her children; Flurina Tinner and Dario Tinner, René & Natascha Frischknecht of Switzerland and their son Gian Frischknecht, Henry & Lisa Frischknecht of Wingham and their sons; Nick Frischknecht & Kayla McWhinney, Henri Frischknecht & Jessica Chrystian and Kurtis Frischknecht, Karin Peterhans-Frischknecht & Christoph Peterhans of Switzerland and their children; Jacqueline Eisenhut & Lukas Pfändler, Eric & Sabrina Eisenhut, Stéphanie & Raphael Hofmann, Fabrice Peterhans and Rolf Frischknecht & Tara Plante of Wingham. Dear brother of Helene Aeberhard-Frischkencht of Switzerland.  Predeceased by his parents Heinrich & Maria Frischknecht.

Heinrich was born in Switzerland and raised on a dairy farm. In 1963 he married his love Agnes and together they worked very hard to succeed in farming and raise five children. As the years went by, Heinrich had a dream to farm in Canada. In 1978 he took an agricultural trip touring farms in Canada. After seeing first hand the opportunities in farming his dream was one day to move there. In 1989 Heinrich, Agnes, and their son Henry made the big decision to move to Canada for a better farming future, leaving their eldest son René and daughters Marlen and Karin to follow their own paths in life back in Switzerland. Their son Henry came to Canada first followed by Heinrich, Agnes, and their youngest son Rolf in the spring of 1990 and in 1992, Heinrich founded “Great Land Farms Ltd”. He embraced the move with challenges of learning the English language and making new friends.

Heinrich enjoyed playing cards and attending many events with the Swiss club. He loved nothing more than operating farm equipment especially the swather. As his family grew both in Switzerland and Canada, he found much joy in becoming a Grossvater (Grandpa). Heinrich took much pride in watching the family farm grow and prosper. Although farming wasn’t always an easy task, he made light of the challenges and always had a great sense of humour with no complaints. He taught his family about the simple things in life such as annual trips to the farm shows and filling his basement with wood for the winter.

As years progressed and his family began to follow in his footsteps, he was able to spend more of his time with Agnes travelling back to Switzerland. He was known to love the warm temperatures of the south and relaxing on the beach. In the most recent years, Heinrich loved spending time out on the back porch with Agnes, friends and family, especially the grandkids and those visiting from Switzerland. It was the perfect spot for watching the daily happenings of the farm. 

Private arrangements have been entrusted to McBurney Funeral Home, Wingham. Interment will take place at Brandon Cemetery, Belgrave.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Wingham & District Hospital Foundation would be appreciated.