Bruce Unger

Peacefully, with his family by his side, Bruce Unger passed away into the presence of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on May 4, 2024, after his brief battle with cancer at 62 years of age.

Bruce was born in MacGregor, Manitoba on September 19, 1961 to Henry and Clara Unger, the third of three boys. He grew up at the family home a half a mile west of MacGregor with his parents and brothers Brian and Dennis, going to school at MacGregor Elementary and MacGregor Collegiate.

During his young adult years, he met the love of his life Barbara Letkeman. They were married on June 18, 1983 at the MacGregor Bergthaler Church and had three children, welcoming Scott in 1984, Tyler in 1987 and Ashleigh in 1988. The family moved quite often during the early years due to Bruce’s job with Manitoba Public Insurance, where he worked for 35 years, living in Winnipeg and Winkler before ultimately settling in MacGregor to raise the family.

For many years, the family’s home church was MacGregor EMC. Bruce was a faithful volunteer to the church, serving in many roles, including on the board as chairman and as worship leader on Sunday mornings. Many lifelong relationships were formed during this time.

Throughout his life, Bruce had a love for sports. He played several sports growing up, including soccer, curling, and fastball. Many weekends in his early 20s were spent across Manitoba playing fastball. He passed that love onto his kids, coaching their various teams and serving on the board of sports organizations. He also enjoyed attending sporting events, whether it was Jets, Blue Bombers, or Goldeyes games in Winnipeg, driving to Minneapolis to watch the Twins, or in retirement going on winter road trips with Barb and their friends Gordon and Amy Rempel to watch the Jets in places like Vegas, Dallas, and Arizona.

In the last 11 years of his life, his greatest joy was his grandchildren. He was so proud of all six of them. At first it was babysitting before attending sporting events, school concerts, and recitals more recently.

Bruce also had a passion for cooking. Many hours were spent finding new recipes to try. He loved barbecuing for the family and guests. The meat of choice always had to be marinated the right way and cooked to perfection.

Shortly before retiring from MPI in 2016, Bruce and Barb moved to Ste. Agathe where they lived until his passing. He took great joy in building the yard from scratch over the years. Each summer he would take on a new project to enhance the backyard.

In his retirement years, he did various odd jobs and volunteering. He worked at Mom’s Pantry south of Winnipeg and enjoyed the relationships he made his co-workers. For 10 years, he volunteered weekly at The Meeting Place’s Common Cupboard food bank in downtown Winnipeg.

Bruce is survived by his wife of nearly 41 years Barb, sons Scott (Leslie; Lukas and Kenzie) and Tyler (Caitlin; Rylee, Emery), and daughter Ashleigh (Brad; Zoey and Gracie), along with his mother Clara, brother Dennis, father-in-law Peter and his wife Doreen, and several brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his father Henry, brother Brian, mother-in-law Helen.

The family would like to thank Dr. Darren Reimer and the palliative care team at Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach for their care and compassion during the past couple weeks.

Donations in Bruce’s memory can be made to Harvest Manitoba.

Interment will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 10, 2024, at St. Vital Cemetery.

A celebration of life will follow at 2:00 p.m. at Fort Garry Mennonite Brethren Church, 1771 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg.

Friends Funeral Service of Winnipeg in care of arrangements.