George Unger

He was born on February 12, 1927 in Rush Lake, SK to Peter and Katharina Unger. He met Ruth Goossen at Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. After graduation, they married on August 16, 1953 and moved to Clearbrook, BC to begin married life and to look after his widowed mother.

Dad taught private piano and organ lessons to children all over the Fraser Valley. He also accompanied the Abbotsford Male Chorus for many years. Dad was skilled at arranging and printing music on his Musicwriter – a manual typewriter custom fit with music notes rather than letters. When music software became available, he taught himself to use the computer instead. Right up until his final days, he encouraged and blessed others with his joyful piano style. He loved to point people to Jesus.

He was predeceased by his wonderful wife Ruth on March 12, 2020. He will be greatly missed by his children and grandchildren: Marcus and Cathy (Aliyah, Shoshanna); Esther and Jonathan Keller (Matthew); Nathan and Lesley (Daniel); Lois and Randall Voth; Peter and Darlene (Jayna, Elise, Ann, Lily).

Dad & Mom both graduated from Bethel college at the same time. All the grads-to-be were asked to share the most important thing they experienced in college. Because Dad's last name started with “U”, he was almost the last one to share. By that time there was a sort of monotony to it all. They all started by saying, “The most important thing was” and then they would share. Everybody knew Dad and Mom were engaged, so when it was Dad's turn to share, he brought the house down by saying, "The second most important thing... ” That's as far as he got. The class roared with laughter.

Their first car was a 1951 Austin with turn signals on flippers – very foreign. When Dad and Mom were on their honeymoon the left rear wheel started smoking and Dad assumed it was a bad wheel bearing. Everywhere he went, (slowly, mind you) the service mechanics all shrugged, “Sorry, that's a foreign car.” On to Seattle, Boise Idaho, and then finally, Salt Lake City, Utah. This time Dad did not say what he thought was wrong. He decided to let the mechanic figure it out. After a short inspection, the mechanic said, “Do you have a few minutes? The brake cable needs to be adjusted, that's all!” Were they ever happy! When they arrived in Mingo, Kansas, that “foreign” car was a big hit with all the teenagers. Dad says that made it worth it all.

Dad was also a big sponsor of a dynamic youth ministry called Gospel Rangers. We had a large basement in our home, and once a week it was filled with children singing, playing, and learning about God. Hundreds of children met the Saviour from 1971 – 1984. Dad arranged the choruses we sang to teach to his students, and many of them ended up receiving Jesus too!

Dad was generous and faithful! He liked Psalm 100: “Make‭ ‭a‭ ‭joyful‭ ‭noise‭‭‭ unto the LORD‭, all ye lands‭.‭ Serve‭‭ the LORD‭ with gladness‭: come‭‭ before his presence‭ with singing‭.‭”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬