Jared Craig Zacharias, beloved husband of Dwylla (nee Krahn) and loving father to Risa, Owen, Levi, and Joel, passed away suddenly of a massive heart attack at Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge, Alberta, on Friday, January 29, 2021 at the age of 36 years.

Jared was born on March 1, 1984, in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. In January 1985, his family moved to Edinburg, Texas, to study Spanish and then moved to Paraguay as missionaries in January 1987. Jared made his decision to follow Jesus when he was 6 years old with the help of his big brother Nathan, and he took this decision seriously until he passed away. These formative years in Paraguay impacted Jared’s love for life and his mission-minded spirit. In June 1994, his family moved to Kleefeld, Manitoba, where he attended the Kleefeld School for grades 5 through 9. He attended high school, and graduated from Steinbach Regional Secondary School in Steinbach, MB. Jared made a public confession of faith and was baptized in the Kleefeld Evangelical Mennonite Church on February 18, 2001. During his high school years, he was very involved with the church and the community through Christian Service Brigade, church youth group, and Roseau River Bible Camp. His goal was to make sure that everybody had a good time while encouraging them to grow in their relationship with Jesus.

Jared attended Steinbach Bible College (SBC) from September 2002 to April 2006. During his college years, he took a 5-month mission trip back to Paraguay, and he continued to work at Roseau River Bible Camp during the summers. Jared loved college life, but most of all, the deep friendships that he developed while he was there. It was also during this time that his passion for ministry really took off. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Christian Studies, with emphasis on Missions and Youth Ministry.

On July 9, 2005 - the summer before his last year of college - Jared married Dwylla, whom he met at SBC and who had become the second love of his life. In December 2006, Jared and Dwylla moved to Picture Butte, Alberta, where they voluntarily helped out with the youth program in Picture Butte Mennonite Church, while Jared worked at Sunrise Poultry as a chicken hanger, lead hand, and overall motivator to his co-workers. It was during this time that Risa and Owen were born. In August 2010, their family moved to High Level, Alberta, to work in the High Level Evangelical Church. While there, Jared served as Youth Pastor from August 2010 to September 2013, then Associate Pastor until June 2015, and Lead Pastor intermittently until June 2017. Levi and Joel were born during this time. He was also involved in short-term ministry trips to Bolivia, Nicaragua, and with Dwylla to the Amazon. In June 2017, Jared resigned from the High-Level Evangelical Church in order to prepare for church planting ministry in Hungary. In October 2018, Jared, Dwylla and their children moved to Hungary and settled in Szigliget to begin serving under the Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission. They had just returned to Canada in December 2020 for a 4-month home assignment and were planning to return to Hungary in April 2021.

Jared loved coffee, sports, and any type of conversation imaginable. But most of all, he loved God and people, and it was his greatest joy and desire to see the two come closer together.

Besides his loving wife and four children, Jared is survived by his parents Kenneth and Valerie (nee Harder) Zacharias; brothers Nathan (Janet Peacock) and Travis (Rosey Zacharias); sister Taralin (Dallas Wiebe); parents-in-law Henry and Caroline (nee Peters) Krahn; sisters-in-law Desiree, Landis (Willie Wall), and Kimberly (Kyle Nemez); grandfather Isaac Zacharias; Grandmother Anne Harder; and numerous nieces and nephews, uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends.

Family and friends are invited to pay their respects from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Sunday, February 7, 2021 at Martin Brothers Riverview Chapel, 610- 4th Street South.  In order to comply with the current social distancing regulations, please phone 403-328-2361 to book an appointment time.

A Funeral Service will be held at 1:00pm on Monday, February 8th, 2021, at Martin Brothers Riverview Chapel, 610 – 4th Street South, Lethbridge, Alberta, with Pastor Abe Klassen officiating.

The family invites everyone to view online via live stream, which will be found on Jared’s obituary at www.mbfunerals.com.  The link will be available at the bottom of Jared’s obituary 15 minutes prior to the service time. Interment to follow at Royal View Memorial Cemetery in Lethbridge, Alberta.