Please allow me to share a personal message of thanks with you this year for the life of a man without whom Lepp Farm Market would not be in existence today. Surrounded by his family, Rob’s father, Henry Lepp, passed away peacefully last week, and we cried tears not of sorrow, but of love for a life well lived, knowing he was ready to be released from his failing earthly body. In 1946, young Henry and his family moved from Saskatchewan to Abbotsford and his father bought the teenager a three ton truck to keep him employed. Dad hauled hay for local farmers, berries for Abbotsford Growers, and in 1948, at the height of the flood, backed his truck up to the high water mark near what’s now Lou’s Bar and Grill and transported Matsqui livestock to the holding barns at Abbotsford airport, later helping with dyke repairs and bringing hay to the displaced animals. He and his brother George operated Lepp Trucking until 1973, and many of the new home basements and roads in the Clearbrook area built in late 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s were done with Lepp Trucking equipment. The brothers sold the business and returned to farming, eventually settling in at the present site of Lepp Farm Market. Rob joined his dad on the farm upon his graduation, and the rest is history. Rob has the privilege of sitting at his dad’s old oak desk, and is thankful for the legacy Dad left us, of love for his dear wife Elizabeth ( #grandmalepp ) of 66 years and his family, an unshakeable faith in God, living peacefully with all people, and his generous, servant heart.
Dad loved nothing more than to sit at the Lepp Farm Market lunch counter with a cup of tea, and marvel at all the hard-working team members and watch the bustle of all the people shopping around him. He marvelled at the technology of the new GPS equipped tractors as he reluctantly but proudly handed the farming duties over to his grandson, Mike. Our children had the privilege of daily seeing their Grandpa on the farm and spent many happy hours seated next to him in the tractor as he worked, sharing a lunch I had prepared for them. We are so thankful for the godly example of a man who lived life with integrity and a sense of fun, teaching us to love the land and be proud of animals raised with care and crops grown with pride.
