Obituary of Jacob Andres

JACOB ANDRES - November 8, 1917 – January 30, 2021

Jacob peacefully went to be with the Lord on Saturday,  January 30, at Tabor Manor Long Term Care, St. Catharines, ON.  He celebrated his 103^rd birthday this past November! 

His wife Helen (Petkau) of 60 years predeceased him on March 24, 2002.  He outlived all of his siblings and most of Helen’s siblings, with the exception of Pepper (Agatha Petkau) Thiessen and sister-in-law Aggie (Durksen) Petkau, both of St. Catharines.   

He is survived by his children David (Judy) Andres of London ON; Dorothy (Hank) Unrau of Vineland, ON; Lauryn Andres of Scottsdale, Arizona, USA ; Gerald Andres of Calgary, AB and Susan Andres of St. Catharines along with 9 grandchildren; 14 great grandchildren and 7 great, great grandchildren.  Predeceased by great grandchild Faith Anne Unrau.  He will be sorely missed by his family and in particular his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Jacob was born and grew up on his family’s farm east of Hepburn, Saskatchewan. He enjoyed the outdoor life of the farm both for work and play. The homestead resembled The Little House on the Prairie.  It had a living room, two bedrooms and one stove that was used for cooking and heating the house. Church was a big part of Jacob’s life, and during the winter the 10 mile trip by horse and sleigh from the farm to Langham was long and cold with only blankets and heated stones to keep them warm.  Jacob accepted the Lord as his savior when he was 12 years old during an evangelistic crusade.  He was baptized at the age of 22 in the North Saskatchewan River by Rev. Jacob Dick.

In 1939, at the age of 22, Jacob left Saskatchewan due to the severe drought and moved to Ontario to earn money to send home to his parents. He started out working for a lumber yard and other odd jobs. One day as he was walking  down town on St. Paul St., St. Catharines he noticed a “Now Hiring” sign in the Agnew Surpass Shoe store window and immediately applied.  He was hired on the spot!  He thrived at  Agnew Surpass and within a few years was promoted to Store Manager.  However, the frequent transfers to other Agnew Surpass stores became a drawback, so, in 1962 he  purchased an independent shoe store in the town of Beamsville.   The store grew over the years and he became a prominent member of the Beamsville retail business community operating  Andres Shoe Store and Andres Clothing Store with his family until Lauryn eventually took over the family enterprise. 

The family attended Vineland Mennonite Brethren Church where he was entrusted with the responsibility of church treasurer for many years.  Jacob and Helen moved into Tabor Manor Apartments in 1999 and when he could no longer drive he transferred his membership to Grantham MB Church in St. Catharines.  Jacob became a resident of Tabor Manor Long Term Care in November, 2016.

The family would like to express special appreciation for the staff  at Tabor Manor Long Term Care and in particular the RNA’s and PSW’s on the 4^th Floor

Due to COVID restrictions a private family graveside service will be held at Vineland Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate memorial donations to Camp Crossroads.