ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Edward Rempel, the co-founder of Rempel Bros. Concrete Ltd., is being remembered as a man who believed in fairness.
He recently passed away on June 11 at age 83.
Rempel was a lifetime member, co-founder and one of the first presidents of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) of B.C.
A tribute on the ICBA website from Kerkhoff Construction president Bill Kerkhoff says, “he and his brother Ewald made sure open shop contractors had the concrete they needed to build their projects in the tumultuous 1970s and 1980s, helping make the construction industry a fair, even playing field for all companies.”
Rempel was born in Abbotsford, B.C. on June 4, 1936. After marrying his wife Myrtle-Anne Reimer on August 30, 1957, they moved to Fort St. John, B.C.
Shortly after they were married Rempel became superintendent of the McMahon Oil & Gas Refinery in Taylor Flats.
The couple had a daughter, Cheryl Lynn in 1959, and two sons, Bruce in 1964 and Kirk in 1968.
The pair remained married for 60 years.
The family eventually moved to Langley in 1966 when Rempel bought an Imperial Oil bulk plant. He moved back to Abbotsford in 1967 and he and his brothers, Ewald and Clarence, started Rempel Bros. Concrete Ltd., which they sold after 24 years.
Edward Rempel stayed on for three more years as president and remained involved in the industry through Rempel Bros. Concrete Inc. (a U.S. subsidiary), Greenbank Sand and Gravel, Lower Mainland Steel, Lower Mainland Concrete Products, Apollo Concrete Products as well as several other companies.
Rempel served on the board of governors of the British Columbia Institute of Technology and the Matsqui-Abbotsford Police Association.
He also served as president of the Amalgamated Construction Association of Canada, the BC Concrete Association and was a member of other boards including the Economic Development Advisory Board for the City of Abbotsford, the United Way and the Sevenoaks Alliance Finance Committee.
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