Dr. Werner H. Epp

Werner Helmut Epp was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on August 29, 1938, to Gerhard and Aganetha Epp and grew up on the family farm in Osborne, Manitoba. Werner passed away on October 3, 2024, at home after a valiant fight with cancer. Werner was the youngest of 7 children. Werner was predeceased by his wife of 51 years Sandra (Brandt) Epp, his sister Erna (Epp) Lenzmann, and 2 brothers who died as infants and are buried in Russia. The family moved and acquired a new farm in East Chilliwack, British Columbia in 1946. Werner graduated from Chilliwack Senior High in 1957, then graduated from the Mennonite Educational Institute in 1958, and then graduated from Columbia Bible Institute in 1959. Werner then attended Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas where he was a pre-med student majoring in Chemistry and Biology graduating in 1961. Werner also played soccer at Tabor College and was the leading scorer on the team going to back-to-back national championship playoffs. The 1960 Tabor College team was inducted into the Tabor College athletic hall of fame in 2008. He also met Sandra Brandt at Tabor College, who was on a consortium exchange for one semester from Westmont College. She stayed at Tabor College and they were married in 1962.

Werner then attended Emporia State University getting his master's degree in clinical psychology in 1963. It was in Emporia, Kansas that Werner and Sandra started managing apartments. Werner then accepted a position with the Torrance Unified School District in California. Teachers at the school in Torrance were having trouble keeping kids engaged with school with many of the kids caring more about surfing and great waves so with Werner’s background in soccer they started an after-school program focusing on soccer. This program became the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) in 1964. Werner helped bring AYSO to Bakersfield in 1969. Also in 1964 Werner and Sandra had their only child Jarrell, born in Harbor City, California.

In 1965 Werner accepted a position as the senior psychologist for the Bakersfield City School District. He worked there for 40 years. Later he also did consulting for several school districts after his retirement. In 1966 Werner became a naturalized US citizen. Werner and Jarrell held joint citizenship in both the US and Canada. In 1967 with the blessing of Pastor Louis Paul Lehman, Werner and Sandra started Readyland Preschool at the Mt. Vernon Mennonite Brethren Church. The preschool grew to become Heritage Christian School and other Christian schools were modeled after it.

Werner was very involved in his psychology profession teaching at Bakersfield College, Fresno State University, and the University of British Columbia. He also served on the board of Fresno Pacific College. He pursued graduate classes at USC, University of the Pacific, UCLA, Cal State Los Angeles, and in 1974 received his doctorate in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Counseling and Special Needs from BYU.

In 1971 Werner received his first of 3 commissions from Governor Ronald Reagan for the Department of Consumer Affairs for Behavioral Sciences. Governor Jerry Brown then kept him on when he became Governor. In 1974-75 Werner served as President of the California Association of School Psychologists (CASP). In 1977 Werner was awarded the California State Outstanding School Psychologist award. Werner lived a faith-filled life counseling many families in Kern County and surrounding areas. Werner was a long-time member of the First Presbyterian Church and enjoyed singing in the choir for many years. Werner also enjoyed his many years of singing in the Mennonite Men’s Chorus.

Werner is survived by his son and daughter-in-law Jarrell and Amanda Epp, grandchildren Jaston (Sarah) Epp, Jarrett (Paige) Epp, Alexa (Connor) Mathis, Jenner Epp, and Ainsley Epp, and great-grandchildren Jedidiah Epp, Josiah Epp, Jared Epp, Ronan Mathis and Rainer Mathis. He is also survived by his brother Walter (Selma) Epp of Edmonton, sisters Martha Braun and Agnes (Dave) Dahl, both of Abbotsford, close cousin Jake (Lydia) Epp of Calgary, brother-in-law Gary (Marge) Brandt of Austin, Texas and many nieces and nephews. Thank you to special friend Janice Lockard for including him in many family events. And special thanks to Hoffman Hospice and caregiver Allan Yap. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Mission of Kern County. Visitation is on October 25, 2024, between 5-7pm and Graveside services are on October 26, 2024, at 11am at Hillcrest Mortuary in Bakersfield, California.