John Knute Nordlee

John Knute Nordlee, age 85, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 15th at Samaritan Place. With family by his side, and his earthly race complete, John was welcomed home to be with his Lord and Savior. John was born September 23rd, 1932 in the Hanley area to Peder and Marit Nordlee, a little brother for his big sister, Marie. John grew up loving farming. In 1957, John married Miss Virginia Evans and together they took over the family farm now established near Kenaston. It was in these early years of marriage that both John and Virginia determined by God’s grace to live for Jesus. As they developed the farm, raised a family of three, raised poultry and cattle, landscaped and gardened, they did it with deep faith and great joy.

And through it all, there was always a pot of coffee to share with neighbors and friends. In addition to farm life, John willingly served on community and church boards. He faithfully served at Kenaston Church and willingly impacted the lives of many young people through his 30 years of Sunday School teaching. All enjoyed John’s unique sense of humor. His life was characterized by strong faith and determination. A favorite scripture of John’s was Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” Even after suffering a brain stem stroke in 2012, and being told he wouldn’t walk again, he did. In John’s later years, family truly was one of his greatest joys. He was so proud of his kids and grandkids; his eyes lit up when they came to visit! He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 60 years, Virginia; his three children, Calvin (Judy) Nordlee, Grant (Cheryl) Nordlee and Brenda (Rod) Wiens; his six grandchildren John (Kailey) Nordlee, Stephanie Nordlee, Justin Nordlee, Caleb Nordlee, Nicholas (Erika) Wiens and Larissa Wiens; his three great grandchildren Nathaniel, Beatrice and Nixon; and his extended family and friends.A public viewing will be Wednesday evening from 7- 8 p.m. at Acadia McKague’s Funeral Centre (915 Acadia Drive, Saskatoon). A private interment service for family will be held at the Kenaston Cemetery. A Celebration of John’s life will be held Thursday, December 21st at 2:30 p.m. at Elim Church (419 Slimmon Road, Saskatoon). Memorial donations can be made to the Kenaston Evangelical Mission Church (Mission’s department) (1-306-252-2245) or Samaritan Place Memorial Fund (www. samaratinplace.ca).We wish to thank the staff at Samaritan Place for the compassionate and loving care given to John in the last 5.5 years. Even though John was wheel-chair bound, he was an incredible encouragement by being a man of prayer.