Wanek: - Hans

When Hans Wanek walked down your street, entered your living room, or pushed open the church doors, you just couldn’t help but smile. With his Austrian accent, quick wit and ready smile, he’d thrust out his hand and say “Look who’s here.” So many people considered him the kindest, gentlest, and most gracious person they’d ever met. For you, it may have been just an average day walking through downtown Paris, loading groceries for customers, or stocking shelves at the hardware store, but when Hans came to see you, your day just got better. To put it simply, Hans Wanek loved people, and people loved him back.

To those who knew him best, he was the father, husband, brother, uncle, friend, neighbor, church member, customer, and whomever else, you always wanted. His garden was immaculate, his talks at church made you want to be a better person, and his woodworking, photography and pressed flowers caused you to wonder how one person could find so much time to create, and still spend so many hours helping others. Hans could regularly be found driving the “old” people around town to run errands, visiting sick church members, and offering wisdom to anyone who asked. Hans lived to serve others; it was his joy and privilege. He had no enemies--except a few raccoons and squirrels who loved his flowers as much as he did--and even then he would catch them alive and free them in the woods miles from his back yard. If you’ve ever read of the loss people felt at the death of a giving woman named Dorcas (found in the Bible in Acts 9:36-42), you have an idea of what Hans’s family and friends are feeling today.

Hans was born on May 27, 1926, in Salzburg, Austria. It was there he married Trudy Hobetinger and then brought her to Paris, Ontario, in 1951. Hans passed to his rest on July 8, 2010, in the Brantford General Hospital. Trudy preceded Hans in death in 1983, but now they are together again. They raised four children who look back on their childhood, and their home at 19 Victoria St. where Hans lived until his death, with cherished memories that will last an eternity. The four children he leaves behind are Angelika Feldbush and her husband Jim, of Denver, Colorado; Heidi Hainault and her husband Dan, of Denver, Colorado; Chris Wanek and Angel of Support, Angela Jones of Hamilton; and Ingrid Stolmack and her husband Marty of Centerville, Virginia. His nine grandchildren are Kristen, Christopher and Michael Feldbush; Ryan and Jason Hainault; Erinn and Shaun Wanek-Walsh, and their mother Christine; and Megan and Kyle Stolmack.

It is an understatement to say that Hans Wanek was a special man. He never stood in the halls of parliament or sat in the board room of any company, but he held sway in the
hearts of every single person he met. He will be missed greatly but will be seen again one day.

Friends will be received at the Wm. KIPP FUNERAL HOME, 184 Grand River Street North, Paris on Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. where funeral service will be held on Wednesday, July 14 at 1:30 p.m. Interment Paris Cemetery. In memorium donations can be made in Hans’s honor to the “Garden of Hope”, c/o Paris Parks Foundation, 139 Grand River Street North, P.O. Box 111, Paris, Ontario, N3L 3E5, which maintains the “Garden of Hope” honoring those who have died of cancer, as well as their loved ones.
Online condolences or donations may be arranged through www.wmkippfuneralhome.com or by contacting Wm. KIPP 519-442-3061.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Hans Wanek, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.

Affiliations

There are no affiliations for Hans Wanek