Rudolph "Rudy" Lemke

September 20, 1940 – January 23, 2014

Rudy died quietly in the early morning hours of Thursday January 23rd, at Freeport Hospital, from complications due to lung cancer.

Rudy was raised in post-war Germany, and worked as a graphic designer in Frankfurt. He left for Canada 1968, where he settled in Kitchener, and started a family. Rudy worked in commercial construction for over three decades in varying capacities, including general contractor. He contributed to the skylines of many cities across Ontario, and spent some of those years involved with commercial high-rise construction in San Francisco, California, which was a particular source of pride for him.

In retirement, Rudy sought quiet river banks, good breakfast joints and he especially loved exploring little known side road shops, farms and stores in his four-wheel drive vehicle, north and east of his home in Kitchener. He collected many antique peculiarities and enjoyed working with these wood, brass, copper and iron artifacts, often to prepare them to give to his grandchildren.

Rudy leaves friends and family with lasting memories of his dynamic, entrepreneurial and often restless spirit, his contagious curiosity for far-away places and cultures, his pride, and his unwavering loyalty and love for those closest to him.

Rudy leaves behind his sister Hildegard and her family in Germany, and his daughter Tanya, sons Christian (daughter-in-law Sherry), Eric (daughter-in-law Sherri), and grandchildren Sean, Carter, and Ty.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Waterloo Regional Homes for Mental Health for their care and compassion for Rudy, the medical staff at Grand River Hospital, and the staff at William’s Coffee Pub on Fairway Road, where Rudy liked to begin his morning routine.

Rudy’s friends and family are invited to a memorial gathering at Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Home (in the Family Centre) at 621 King St. W., Kitchener, on Saturday, February 22nd from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Gifts can be made to the Grand River Conservation Foundation for a memorial bench in Rudy’s name at https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/7769.