Joachim "Jo" Blank

Mr. Joachim Karl Blank (Jo) of Coaldale, AB passed away peacefully on January 27, 2021 at the age of 84 years, after a brief stay at the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge.  Jo was the steadfastly devoted and loving husband of the late Mrs. Erika Blank (nee. Neufeld).

Jo was born on June 1st, 1936 in Ebenflur, East Prussia, Germany.  He was the fourth of six children born to Friedrich and Lina Blank. In January of 1945, the approach of the Soviet army forced his family to flee west. They settled in Edendorf, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany in 1946. He remained there until 1952 when he began an apprenticeship in masonry in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. In 1953, his family immigrated to Canada and came to Central Farm near Coaldale. After several years of oilfield work in northern Alberta, Jo moved back south to farm with his parents in the Coaldale and Barnwell area. They eventually settled in Coaldale; this is where he met Erika. Jo and Erika were married on October 8, 1966 and celebrated 52 years of marriage before her passing in 2019.

Jo began working as a carpenter in 1967 and through most of his working life was self-employed as a general contractor and homebuilder. In the early ‘80s Jo moved the family to an 80-acre parcel of land to farm in his spare time before returning to Coaldale with Erika in 2000, retiring shortly thereafter to live in the last home that he built. Jo was an active and vibrant man: throughout his working and retirement years, he enjoyed volleyball, badminton, cycling, hunting, walking, hiking, woodworking, and gardening, and he was an active volunteer at the Coaldale Mennonite Church to which he and Erika belonged.

Jo is survived by his children: Karl (Ramona) of Lethbridge; Walter (Marcy Fink) of Marietta, Georgia; Anne Edwards (Scott) of Edmonton; Martin (Jean) of Edmonton; and Irene (Geoff Gibson) of Winnipeg.  He was Opa to seven grandchildren—Ayrton, Sabrina, Kurt, Jenna, August, Elizabeth, and Louis—who were convinced “Opa kann einfach alles!” and they were not wrong. Jo is also survived by his brothers Hans-Georg (Erika) of Creston, BC and Konrad (Janet) of Auburn, Washington; his sister Erika Krueger (Elmar) of Sandy, Oregon; and his sister-in-law Ella (Reinhold) of Langley, BC. Many nieces and nephews and their families also mourn the loss of their Onkel Jo. In addition to Erika, he was predeceased by his parents, his sister Ursula, and his brother Reinhold.

A Memorial Service will be held via Zoom at 11:00 AM MST on Saturday, February 20, 2021. To join the service by computer, please use the link below or contact the family for telephone dial-in instructions.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87999275820

Meeting ID: 879 9927 5820
Passcode: 797029

In lieu of flowers, it was Jo’s wish to have donations made to the Mennonite Central Committee – Alberta, #210, 2946 - 32 St NE, Calgary, AB T1Y 6J7 https://mcccanada.ca/learn/where/canada/alberta.