It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to David “Dave” Epp. Dave was born in the Ukraine on August 29th, 1929 and passed away in Moose Jaw, SK on Saturday, December 2nd, 2023 at the Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital with his son Brian by his side. He was predeceased by his wife, Audrey in 2019. Dave is survived by his 3 sons, 5 grandsons, and 1 great-grandson.
Dave came to Canada with his family in 1948 at the age of 18, after escaping persecution from the Russians and Germans during the Second World War. Dave spoke five languages when he came to Canada, but not English. Within five years he had his welding ticket and his heavy duty mechanics papers and was working at Willms Transport as a mechanic and welder. If you knew Dave, you knew he could fix anything and loved mechanics and figuring out how things worked. Around 1952 the best thing that happened to Dave was meeting the love of his life Audrey. It is impossible to write about Dave without including Audrey. Audrey and Dave were inseparable for over 65 years, a true love story and working partnership. They both worked in Moose Jaw for several years then moved to Lafleche, SK where Dave built and ran the school bus and snow bombardier unit. They lived in Lafleche for about six years and had three sons. Moving back to Moose Jaw in 1967, they bought Handfield motors, renaming it to Epp Motors, a Datsun/Nissan car dealership. Dave and Audrey worked tirelessly to build a great community business and loved to help people. About seven years later, they bought a grain farm near Tuxford, SK. Dave was very involved in the city, Meals on Wheels, the Food Bank, and being a member of the Zion Church for over 70 years. Dave was also the president of the Cosmopolitan Club for many years. Dave loved nature, animals, and the outdoors. He loved tending to his rose garden and being out at the farm, his favourite place! Later on in life, you could still find Dave, even in his late 80’s, working on one of his many cars in his garage on Normandy Drive. Dave will truly be missed by so many people in the community.
We would like to send out a very special thank you to all the people at Providence Place that took such good care of Dave in the last year. We would also like to thank Five Hills for their help prior to Dave going to Providence Place. They helped him stay in his house until he was 93 years old. Also, a very special thank you to John and Sharleen Langford and Denys Kornuta for always being there for my father.
A Graveside Service will be held on Monday, December 11th, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at Rosedale Cemetery. A Celebration of Dave’s Life will be held in the Spring, with details to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Dave’s name may be made to the Moose Jaw Food Bank, 270 Fairford St W, Moose Jaw, SK S6H 1V6. Arrangements are entrusted to Moose Jaw Funeral Home, 268 Mulberry Lane. Gary McDowell, Funeral Director 306-693-4550 www.moosejawfuneralhome.com
