SIEGMUND, Gunther “Red”

SIEGMUND 1938 – 2024 It is with great sadness and broken hearts that the family of GUNTHER “RED” SIEGMUND announce his passing on September 24, 2024 at the age of 86 years (or 43 on each side as he would say).
Gunther was born February 2, 1938 in East Prussia, Germany. Facing the hardships of war, the family immigrated to Canada and arrived in Halifax at Pier 21 on July 1st, 1952. Shortly after travelled by train to Lethbridge and settled down in Picture Butte and eventually relocated to Coaldale.
In his younger years, he had very red hair which gave him the nickname “Big Red”, that has been what people have called him for decades.
In 1959, he worked for Broder’s Canning Company and met the love of his life, Pat and they got married on May 7, 1960. While residing on a farm near Coaldale, they had their daughter Vikki, and in 1962 along came son Jerry. They moved back to Lethbridge while Red worked as a Welder for Western Metal Fabricators and in 1964 welcomed their son Rob before moving to Red Deer to work at Canada Packers. In 1977, they returned to Lethbridge where he worked at Victory Equipment until accepting a position at Canada Packers. In 1990, after Canada Packers closed operations in Lethbridge, Red worked at XL Foods Hide Plant as their night time welder/maintenance man until retiring in 2006.
During his career, Red made many close friends over the years and always had the best neighbors. His hobbies included painting as he was an extremely talented artist, fishing, hunting, checking his lotto tickets and buying crossword scratch tickets, planting, tinkering in his garage and visiting with people – there was no such thing as a quick run to the store for Red.
There was nothing Red couldn’t fix, he was the jack of all trades. With his “waste not want not” attitude, he was able to build his 2 storey dream garage using the cinder blocks that were in their backyard. Complete with an art studio on the top storey. Although he had a lot of things, which made it hard to maneuver around in the garage, however if there was anything you needed, he knew exactly where it was without worry. Unfortunately as years went on, mobility was an issue which made him unable to climb the stairs to the top storey. Until the day of his passing he carried around photos in his wallet of his paintings to show people.
Red will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 64 years, Pat; children, Victoria “Vikki” Hallowell, Gerald “Jerry” (Wendy) Siegmund, Rob Siegmund; grandchildren Nichole “Nikki” (David) Van Eden, Spencer Siegmund, Taylor Siegmund, Tanner Siegmund; great- grandchildren Brinley Van Eden & Daxton Van Eden; and sister Ingrid Siegmund. He always had a special bond with nephew Wyatt Pickering and considered him like a son. He will be dearly missed by numerous extended family members and friends including special friend Mel Groves.
Red was predeceased by his parents Erich & Klara Siegmund; his brother Udo Siegmund and sisters Brigitte (Allen) Davidson and Hildegard “Hilda” (Alvin) Pickering.
Red’s passion was his family, they were his pride and joy. He enjoyed time with his wife, children, grandchildren, and especially his great-grandchildren – smiles were immediate on his face when he saw them, he was so proud to be their Papa. Red was a great friend to many.
A Memorial service will be held at Salmon and Sons Funeral Home, 433 Stubb Ross Road South, Lethbridge on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.
Red will be remembered for his extremely positive (glass full) attitude, hard working ethic, his calm nature, incredible humour, wisdom, his giving soul and his contagious smile!
He loved completely, cared deeply and will be profoundly missed.
To send a condolence, please visit www.salmonandsons.ca