Raymond Eugene Neufeld

Obituary – Ray Neufeld

After a life well lived, Raymond “Ray” Eugene Neufeld left this world to meet his Saviour on February 26th, 2026, leaving behind a legacy of love, faith, many accomplishments, and talents. He passed peacefully at the age of 100 years in his Sunrise Gardens home, Brooks, Alberta.
He is survived by his wife and close companion of the last 34 years, Elsie Neufeld (nee Klassen), and his six children and their partners: Shirley (Harry) Voth, Kenton “Ken” (Cathy) Neufeld, Susan “Sue” (Todd) Krohn, Rodney “Rod” (Shelley) Neufeld, Dale (Dawn) Neufeld, and LeAnne (Kent) Lien. Ray will be missed and lovingly remembered by his 16 grandchildren; Karalyn (Ryan) Sept, Kendra (Ryan) Rae, Luwana (Neil) Befus, Darin (Niki) Neufeld, Arland (Shawna Reiss) Voth, Robin Neufeld, Kristin (Neil) Butterfras, Brooke (Ryan) MacPherson, Desmond (Kelsey) Neufeld, Cameron Neufeld, Heather (Dan) Ireland, Cherish (Kevin) Long, Erik Lien, Brynn Lien, Skylar Heydlauf-Neufeld, Morgan Lien and his 29 great-grandchildren.

Ray is also survived by his brothers, La-Verne (Mae) Neufeld, Enderby, BC and Ken (Erna) Neufeld, Didsbury, AB as well as dearly loved, extended family members of the Neufeld, Dyck, Walde and Klassen families, nieces, nephews and numerous beloved friends. He is predeceased by his first wife of almost 40 years, Agnes (Walde) Neufeld in 1989, his parents, Abram U. Neufeld in 1965 and Susanna (Dyck) Neufeld in 2000, as well as his two half-brothers, Bill (Olive) Neufeld and Jake (Agnes) Neufeld, his brother Lawrence (Amy) Neufeld and his sister, Eunice (Bill) Pauls.

Ray was born in Swalwell, AB on January 10,1926 and grew up in the Didsbury area. From his earliest memories, Ray always enjoyed art and was intrigued with wildlife. These two complementary interests blended in true-to-life expression on paper, on canvas, on film and in taxidermy, as he sketched, painted, took photos and created realistic mounts of various birds, fish, and big game animals. An enthusiastic sportsman with a love for the outdoors, he regaled family and friends with thrilling tales of adventure, experiences and close-up encounters with animals in the wild.

Ray gained an appreciation for woodworking by observing and assisting his carpenter father. As a young, enterprising 19-year-old, he negotiated his first contract to build a farmhouse near Duchess. Though remodeled and enlarged since its initial construction, this structure still stands. Ray followed his father’s footsteps to a journeyman’s certificate in carpentry and founded his own construction company in 1950. His fascination for woodworking resulted in the construction of various houses, many of which are still in use in Brooks and area, as well as churches, such as the first Brooks Evangelical Free Church on Main street, and numerous agricultural and recreational buildings. Later in his career, Ray’s creative woodworking genius resulted in his design and crafting of furniture and most recently, an artful form of lathe and scroll saw work that he dubbed “lascrolia”. This craft occupied countless enjoyable retirement hours with each of the more than one hundred unique pieces reflecting, in meticulous ingenuity, this artisan’s love of nature and God’s creation.

In 1961 Ray, along with his devoted wife, Agnes (Walde) Neufeld and their children moved onto the 160-acre parcel of land that they acquired when the Alberta government opened up prairie land for irrigation. Although Ray had not grown up on a farm, their farming enterprise located near Seven Persons was successfully established through the hard work and commitment of Ray and Agnes, their six children, and supportive neighbors. While the farm work took precedence over play; nevertheless, Ray made time for family visits and campouts, fishing and hunting trips, annual visits to the Medicine Hat Stampede each July, or even just a game of lawn croquet in the back yard at the end of a hot summer day. Ray was a “can do” type of guy, who throughout his lifetime was repeatedly heard to comment, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. Although the way occasionally seemed dubious, his strong will and determination almost always led to an innovative solution. During his 30-year farming career he found time for volunteer leadership at Seven Persons Community Church, Medicine Hat Evangelical Free Church, and Bow Island Evangelical Free Church, as well as for serving seven successive terms as school trustee elect for Medicine Hat School Division No. 4. Whether it was in the course of his work duties, church activities or community involvement, Ray took a great deal of pleasure in developing and nurturing a myriad of meaningful friendships.

Following the death of his beloved wife, Agnes in 1989 and three lonely years of widowhood, Ray met and married the woman who became his soulmate and loyal companion for the next 34 years. Together with his wife Elsie (Klassen) Neufeld, Ray enthusiastically embraced many fulfilling retirement pursuits; fishing, hunting, building projects, crafts, hobbies, gardening, reading, writing, volunteer work at home and abroad, church activities, travel, and hosting visitors in their home at Southbank, BC, in Creston BC and in Brooks, AB, respectively. After a 54-year absence, Ray came full circle by completing his last 11 years of retirement in Brooks. There he and Elsie resided initially in their own home, then in Orchard Manor and finally at Sunrise Gardens.

Ray valued relationships, easily engaging in conversations with people of all ages wherever he went. His first priority however, was his relationship with God, which began about age 13 with the assurance of his personal commitment to Jesus as his Savior. He credited his interest in spiritual matters to his parents’ example which had a profound impact on him. Later as a teenager, he chose to attend Prairie Bible College, Three Hills, AB where solid Biblical teaching inspired and reinforced the deep Christian faith and principles that subsequently guided him throughout his entire lifetime. Church involvement and support of missions was a key focus of Ray’s life wherever he lived. He genuinely loved the Lord as well as his immediate family, his extended family, his neighbors, his church family and a host of friends. Though he will be deeply missed, we are confident that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8) and so we rejoice and celebrate Ray’s heavenly promotion!

A Celebration of Life service will be held on April 18th, 2026, at 2 p.m. at Thom’s Funeral Home and Reception Centre in Duchess, Alberta. In lieu of flowers, donations will be gratefully accepted by one of Ray’s favourite missions, Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBCanada.org).

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