Eulogy

For

Karl-Heinz Richard Homann

(April 29, 1933 – April 23, 2008)

By  

Klaus Puhlmann

(Friend)

Susanne, Family Members, Friends and Neighbours:

There are some things in one’s life that, try as we may, just cannot be adequately done. One of these things, for me at least, is to adequately express how I feel about the passing of my good friend, Karl, and to capture and eulogize his life in a meaningful way.  

If a person’s wealth is measured by the number of good deeds one does unto others, then Karl-Heinz Homann was indeed a very rich man.  

Karl-Heinz Richard Homann was born on April 29, 1933 in Oer-Erkenschwick near Recklinghausen, Germany. He was the oldest of three children, followed by his sister Evelyn Rosanowski (1934) and his youngest brother Richard Homann (1942).  

His parents, Adolf and Elfriede Homann, raised their three children in Oer-Erkenschwick. Karl-Heinz took his basic schooling in Oer-Erkenschwick where he completed Grade 8. Life for the young Karl-Heinz was very demanding and his parents had high expectations of him. His father and mother expected him to work in the garden and do many other chores as well. He came to realize at a very young age that the garden was an important source of food, which he appreciated for the rest of his life.  

The war years made it very difficult for Karl-Heinz to continue with his schooling beyond Grade 8, but it was also deeply grounded in the German culture that one commences with an apprenticeship in some trade after Grade 8, unless one was University-bound and wanted to embark on a professional career. His father wanted Karl-Heinz to become a coal miner, but he wanted no part of it. He then tried his hand in the masonry trade. Being young and the green horn on site, he was asked to do many menial tasks. One day he had to take the mortar up the ladder in buckets to the bricklayers, when he fell down the ladder and landed squarely in the cement bucket. That was the end of his apprenticeship as a mason.  

His search for something else continued, trying a number of things during the ensuing years. His first job in 1948 was as a helper in a shop that made technical modifications to automobiles, in particular to racing cars (Kraftfahrtechnischer – Versuchsbau Recklinghausen, 6. 4. 1948 to 31. 8. 1948). The post-war years made it literally impossible to commence an apprenticeship in this field, but he was promised that he would soon secure a formal apprenticeship. He realized soon that he was doing primarily menial tasks, which did not get him anywhere, so he discontinued working in this shop.  

There were two more shops (Family H. Walter, Wanne-Eickel, 21. 9. 1948 to 3. 12. 1948; and Family J. Backhaus, Recklinghausen, 6. 12. 1948 to 3. 12. 1948) where he had worked as a helper and, no doubt, continued to hone his skills in a variety of areas, before he landed a job as an apprentice in machining. (Family J. Pass, Recklinghausen, 27. 1. 1949 to 6. 9. 1952) Here he really excelled and enjoyed the trade, consequently completing his journeyman certificate in machining. Following completion of his training as machinist, he secured a job in a Tool & Die Manufacturing Plant (Vereinigte-Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken, Frankfurt/M, Spitzen-Dreher, 30. 9. 1952 to 20. 6. 1953) in Frankfurt/M. This job offer as top machinist was extended to him based on his good reputation as journeyman machinist.

In 1953, he was drawn back to his hometown of Oer-Erkenschwick, where he began to train and work as a mechanic in the mine (Zeche Ewald-Fortsetzung, Oer-Erkenschwick, Grubenschlosser, 2. 7. 1953 to 3. 11. 1954), a work place he flatly refused to work in when his father wanted him to start there in 1948. But Karl-Heinz had clearly an eye on becoming a radio and television technician and Oer-Erkenschwick offered optimal conditions for that. While working as a mine mechanic in Oer-Erkenschwick he was able to work in a Radio and Television Repair Shop (Radio Engbring O.H.G. Oer-Erkenschwick, 1. 11. 1954 to 31. 12. 1958) in the same town in the evening. There, he discovered his love in yet another field – the world of electronics. In a four-year self-study he acquired the skills needed to work as a radio and television technician and it also provided him a strong foundation when he started to work on his master technician papers in 1967.  

In 1959, he started his own business in radio and television repairs, which he carried out in Oer-Erkenschwick until 1968. While in Oer-Erkenschwick, he met his wife Susanne in 1960 and they were married on August 8, 1961.  

During their courtship, Karl-Heinz and Susanne often went for long walks and on these occasions he would ask Susanne many science questions like, “What is the distance from the earth to the moon?” and other astronomy-related questions. Susanne knew all the answers to these questions and Karl-Heinz was very impressed. He continued to be impressed throughout his life by her knowledge and he would often seek her help in German grammar and other areas. His love of astronomy and all things related to the planets and stars, though, was clearly evident at that time already.  

During that time, but prior to their courtship, Susanne was often noticing a small plane in the sky that was flown by a pretty wild pilot, in a manner that was equivalent to a car driver ‘burning rubber on the road’. She later discovered that it was Karl-Heinz.

Flying airplanes was another one of his passions. At the age of 26 years in 1959, he got his pilot licence and he flew every opportunity he had. He was even seriously considering to become an ‘F104 star fighter’ pilot, but when he learnt that becoming a ‘star fighter’ pilot involved doing many other things unrelated to flying, not to mention taking orders from people younger than himself, he struck that career choice from his list, but he never lost his passion for flying. He even experienced a crash landing with his plane and broke the wooden propeller, which be brought to Canada and which is now hanging in his workshop above the workbench. He credits his good training for surviving this crash.  

On September 21, 1962, a good year into their marriage, Susanne gave birth to their first child, Uwe. This event filled Karl-Heinz with considerable pride, as did the birth of their daughter, Ute, 6 years later on March 13, 1968. He was incredibly proud of his children, loved them very much and ensured they were well provided for and supported in any way he could. As the children grew up, they went nearly every weekend for extensive walks in the forest. He would use these occasions to instill a love of nature in his children and to emphasize the importance of keeping our environment healthy. At that time Uwe and Ute were not thrilled to receive the many lectures about science from their father, but today they are eternally thankful that they received them.  

In 1968, Karl-Heinz moved with his family to Neumünster, a city north of Hamburg. There he continued being self-employed on a full-time basis as a master technician in the radio and television repair business until 1976. His business flourished and it had a good reputation. One of his many good character traits – his generosity and kindness – really came to shine here, particularly in relation to families of lesser means, who could ill-afford the repair costs. Karl-Heinz would simply charge them a fraction of the cost or did the repairs without charging.  

In 1976 he was offered a full-time position with the Federal Government of Germany (Bundesanstalt für Flugsicherung) in the area of air security, which involved working with radar installations, climate control and electronics. He continued his radio and television repair business on a part-time basis during evening hours only, while his high-paying security job consumed the day-time hours. Working in air security was very interesting and challenging, but over time he felt the stress increasing, taking its toll on his well-being. Consequently, he began the search for something less stressful, which would allow him to live a more balanced family life.  

One way of releasing his stress was to take his family for walks in the forest. Throughout the seventies, he also took his family on many excursions within Europe, which included a trip to Bulgaria (1972), France (1977) and several trips to the Scandinavian countries from Denmark,  Sweden and Norway (1976) all the way up to  Finland (1966). In fact, it was the vacation in Finland back in 1966 that created in his mind the longing to see the vastness of Canada. His dream came true when in July/August 1979 he landed with his family in Canada, travelling for 4 weeks from Kitchener, Ontario to Alberta in a camper and returning home via the United States. The idea of immigrating to Canada was seriously on his mind and now that he was here on a holiday, he made mental notes during this cross-country journey where they might want to settle when they immigrate. They considered numerous places to settle, like Kenora, Ontario; Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; and Edson, Alberta. In the end, they choose the Edson area where they would settle, which was agreed to by the entire family. With the decision now made to come to Canada, they returned home and worked toward that end. The family remembers one event during their travel in the Edson area that probably influenced Karl-Heinz to settle in this area. He saw a small plane in the air and discovered that Edson had an airport; two facts that made him favor this area. Of course, later on here in Canada, Karl-Heinz owned a plane and had his own airstrip on his land.  

In February 1980, while still in Germany, they travelled as a family to Egypt to see, among other things, the pyramids. The great pyramids on the Giza plateau in particular held incredible fascination for him, which subsequently led him to do many mathematical calculations and to write articles. His analysis of his own measurements and the facts about the pyramid led him in to the world of transcendental numbers like Pi and Phi, the Golden Mean and Fibonacci sequences. This was truly Karl-Heinz’ world which kept him spellbound until his death.  

In 1980, he resigned from his stressful job with the German Federal Government and the entire family immigrated in July of the same year to Canada. They were living first in a rented farm house near their current place and soon after their arrival they started to build their own home on the quarter section they had purchased from the farmer who rented the home to them. For Karl-Heinz this was a dream come true, as he had now a place where he could truly enjoy the peace and tranquility he longed for and be in close proximity with nature. On many occasions he would refer to his place as the best paradise on earth. He was awestruck by the view, the vastness of the land, the endless sky and the peacefulness. He considered himself extremely fortunate to have his home on this beautiful spot, surrounded by his family, his well-equipped workshop, his airplane and his own airstrip. After several years being here, he went to Germany for a visit and when he returned, he would say, that this trip has most definitely confirmed that he made the right decision to come to Canada. He would add that there is no better place in the world for him to live. His positive feeling about Canada was further strengthened with every subsequent trip he made to Europe.  

The first few years in Canada were extremely busy years, as he had many things on his plate to juggle. There was a new family home to be built, his workshop, doing some farming/gardening and doing research. The children attended school, but shortly after Uwe graduated from Parkland Composite High School in 1981, Karl-Heinz and Uwe started a joint business in radio and television repairs, known as Karl’s TV Service. However, Uwe was not yet trained in this field and thus he started his apprenticeship with his father in 1982. Prior to taking Uwe as an apprentice, Karl-Heinz had to pass the exams as an electronic technician in order to obtain the Canadian-equivalent certificate. Since Karl-Heinz’ English was not adequate to take the exams, he requested that Uwe be allowed to serve as the translator. The examiner expressed fears that Uwe would tell his Dad the answers. Karl-Heinz’ response was that, “If you think that Uwe knows all the answers, you should issue him the Canadian certificate right now.” The examiner realized that his fear was probably groundless; the examination proceeded and Karl-Heinz passed them all.  

Together, Karl-Heinz and Uwe developed a successful partnership with customers coming from far and wide. The electronic appliances to be repaired were picked up from the customer mostly by Uwe, taken to their shop and returned to the customer invariably the next day. Customer satisfaction was a high priority for Karl-Heinz and his generosity and kindness that he was well known for in his radio and television business in Germany continued here as well.  

Life in Canada began to settle into a routine that allowed him to shift his focus on things that were near and dear to his heart. His love and enjoyment of the outdoors were high on the agenda. He and his family travelled primarily in Alberta, particularly to Jasper National Park, where many relaxing holidays were enjoyed. Eventually, their travels only involved his wife Susanne and himself, as Uwe handled more and more of the family business and Ute commenced her study of forestry at the University of Alberta after graduating from Parkland Composite High School in 1986. She graduated with a degree in Forestry in 1991. Karl-Heinz was very proud of his children and all their successes in life. He would often tell me stories what his children had achieved and I could tell that pride was written all over his face and rightly so.  

A particularly happy event in Karl-Heinz’ life was the marriage of his son to Sandra on February 11, 1989. Only the birth of his first granddaughter, Nadia, on June 23, 1996 and the birth of his grandson, Kevin, on January 27, 2000 would surpass this joyous event. He was a proud grandfather and thought the world of his grandchildren. Although he was always an advocate for children, Nadia and Kevin were often the catalyst in his determination to fight for the well-being of all children. An example in point is the flaring activities by the oil companies that took place near Fulham School. Karl-Heinz was totally outraged by the apparent indifference that oil companies showed toward the safety of the children. They flared their wells while the children attended the near-by school. He met with school system and oil company officials and demanded that they stop flaring while children attend school. He succeeded and it was done on weekends only. Karl-Heinz took on many other environmental issues over the years, never driven by self-interest, but he was always doing it for the greater good and the well-being of his entire community.  

Life for Karl-Heinz and his family continued in relative comfort, with activities such as gardening, fixing things around the farm, building, creating things, reading books, engaging in health-related activities, doing research about the star Sirius and precession theories, enjoying the outdoors, interacting with his grandchildren and family members, flying his plane, organizing and cataloguing his cassettes and DVDs, and helping other people. All of these activities individually and collectively brought great joy and contentment to his life.  

Gardening, the organic way of course, was one of his favorite spring and summer activities, with the entire family participating. The harvest always yielded more than his family could consume, so he shared it with many of his friends and neighbours. Later on he invited friends and neighbours to come and plant their own garden plot in his well-prepared and fertile ground. Karl-Heinz was generous to a fault, because he always wanted other people to enjoy the same things that he was able to enjoy.  

Fixing things was not just confined to his farm, but rather he helped many friends and neighbours with their breakdowns and problems. He was very inventive and practical in his approach, often utilizing items that other people had thrown away. Whatever he built or repaired was well thought out, useful and often demonstrated a stroke of genius.  

Reading books, particularly in the area of science, health and philosophy was one of his greatest pleasures and passions. When he confronted difficult problems or had an interest in any area, he would acquire books and any other necessary resources from all around the world, written by the greatest minds and authorities in a particular field, which he studied until he had a full understanding of the problem. He had incredible patience, energy and perseverance in solving problems, not to mention a high level of motivation.  

Karl-Heinz never did anything superficially or haphazardly. No matter what he did, everything had to be precise, practical, purposeful and done with the highest quality of workmanship. In fact, his thoroughness, depth of understanding, perseverance, determination, precise work and high quality of workmanship were the hallmark of his approach to everything he did.  

Karl-Heinz’ mind was never at rest. He always worked at something and he was always willing to share his findings and the benefits of his creations with others. He studied incessantly trying to find ways to improve our health and what we can and should do to remain healthy. His interest was particularly in natural medicine and what it had to offer. He researched in great depth for proven methods from the past and drew much from the wisdom accumulated in alternative medicine as well. I have never met anybody who did so much for his health and that of others as Karl-Heinz. He did, indeed, help others and counseled them to adopt healthier life styles. Every time I saw him he would say to me, “…remember we want to reach 100 years of age and be active, so do something for your health, because without it we won’t be able to enjoy our workshops and all the things we love doing.” What Karl-Heinz feared the most was ending up in a lodge for seniors playing cards and bingo. It is sad and ironical that despite all the things he did for his health, he was only granted one of the wishes – he did not have to go to the lodge playing cards and bingo, but he fell far short from being 100 years of age. While he convinced many people to follow healthier lifestyles, he was sometimes frustrated by their indifference toward their own health.  

With respect to his love of flying his plane, I have fond memories about an event that goes back to 1992, when my brother and his family visited us. As with all our visitors, he would phone us and invite our visitors for a plane ride. As soon as we arrived at Homann’s place, Karl-Heinz would take them on a short walking tour that also included his electronic workshop. When my brother inquired about the broken wooden propeller over his workbench, he would casually mention that he had a crash landing in Germany many years ago and added quickly, “Let’s go flying.” With mild trepidations, my brother and his wife followed him to the plane. Karl-Heinz was going to show them our house and property in Carrot Creek from the air. On the way to our house, my brother spotted some bears below and mentioned this to Karl-Heinz. He responded: “Where, where?” and shot with the plane, nose down, toward the bears. His quick reaction startled my brother somewhat and although he saw other animals on the ground, he refrained from making Karl-Heinz aware of these. My brother and his wife were somewhat pale, but Karl-Heinz brought them safely to the ground.  

One of Karl-Heinz’ greatest achievements is his research in astronomy, more specifically his research about the star Sirius, the paradox with precession time, pyramid energies and other related topics, which he began in the nineteen seventies. He took precise measurements of his observations for more than 16 years from which he drew conclusions, which he shared with astronomers, physicists and mathematicians around the world. While some scientists were simply unable or unwilling to think outside their current paradigm, others embraced Karl-Heinz’ findings and expressed strong support. Many noted scientists are in agreement with Karl-Heinz and a research foundation in California, together with these scientists is committed to carrying on his work. More information can be found on his website: www.siriusresearchgroup.com. This is truly an achievement that parallels the work of a genius.  

Karl-Heinz was an honest and caring man, a human being with the ability to empathize with other people’s adverse conditions. His generous, big heart and helpfulness did not identify with avarice or greed, envy or jealousy. Instead, he would often say: “It makes me feel really good when other people are doing better in life than me. I take pleasure in sharing their joy. I experience no feeling of envy or greed about their advantage.”  

While many people do not describe Karl-Heinz as funny, comical, humorous, witty or hilarious, he certainly saw the funny side of and humour in life and he enjoyed it to the fullest. He certainly enjoyed a good laugh with his friends and neighbours. And, most important, he could laugh at himself. He had and continued to acquire many classic comedy movies or the works of many classic comedians. These collections meant a lot to him and they were played on every occasion he had. He normally ended up with a bellyache because he laughed so hard. To him, this was comedy with some depth and intelligence, in contrast to what is today being considered as comedy, where it is the aim to have fun at other people’s expense. He remembered many of these classic lines and repeated them when one was with him. He would have a hearty laugh all over again.  

Although he was not very musical himself, he thoroughly enjoyed classical music, with his favorite music being that of Vivaldi and some others. He would play and listen to these classical composers every chance he had.  

Karl-Heinz was truly a man who lived his life with a deep and abiding interest in the well-being of his family and his community – so we keep that interest alive; he was an honest, reliable and caring man – so we honor his name; and he was a man who touched our lives in many positive ways through his generosity and kindness – so we emulate his generosity and are thankful that he was among us. His passing touches us now and leaves a void in our lives, a void that will only close in time.  

If there is a lesson to be learnt from Karl-Heinz, it is the realization that we can be happy without the abundance of material things and we can learn to enjoy and share the things we have with others. Karl-Heinz enjoyed inner contentment in his life.  

Now, all too soon, he is gone. We cannot fully comprehend it yet, is has not sunken in. I am sure that our lives shall be emptier for his absence, because they were fuller by his presence. And so, we honour his memory, a memory that each of us carries inscribed in our mind; a memory in which Karl-Heinz Homann yet lives – the husband, father, grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, neighbour and friend we all knew. And we resolve, here and now, to cherish that memory and nourish it.

And, in so doing, Ute and Uwe have expressed their cherished memories about their dad in a very personal way to him, by saying:

Dad you may not have put your feelings into words very often, but your never-ending effort to lead us on the right path in our lives, whether it is health-related things, attending the educational institution that would help us achieve the best career, financial matters, and the list goes on and on, have truly stuck in our minds over the years. From time to time it has been somewhat annoying, but that is what parents need to be from time to time. However, even though we don't live our lives in every way according to your suggestions and advice, the basic framework that your guidance has provided us is in place and it can not be nor will we allow it to be torn down. So what you have provided to us throughout the years is really "unconditional love", even though you may not have always been very good at verbally expressing it. So thanks dad for helping us to turn out the way we did. You are an excellent mentor. We say ‘are’, because we think you will continue to watch out for us if we are straying off the right path.  

It was on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at approximately 13:49 hours, just 6 days before his 75 th birthday, when Karl-Heinz was suddenly and unexpectedly taken from us. It was a great shock to us all.

He was predeceased by:  

• His father Adolf on January 16, 1983
• His mother Elfriede on January 20, 1991
• His brother-in-law Heinz on June 17, 1995
• His nephew Dirk on October 13, 1999, all of Germany.

He leaves to mourn:  

• His loving wife Susanne of Peers
• His son Uwe and his wife Sandra and their children Nadia and Kevin of Peers
• His daughter Ute of Airdrie
• His sister Evelyn and family of Germany
• His brother Richard and family of Germany  

May God bless you, Karl-Heinz, and may you rest in peace.

 Letter from Walter Cruttenden

Saturday, May 10, 2008

North Rosevear Community Hall

Peers, Alberta Canada