Mervyn Edward Souder

1911 - 2008  (97 years)

• Name	Mervyn Edward Souder
  Born	25 Jul 1911	Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-385050
  Died	8 Dec 2008	Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Buried	Parklawn Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I385050	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Family	Marjorie Alma Orser,   b. 8 Jul 1925,   d. 3 Jan 2017, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 91 years)
  Last Modified	12 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F261151	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  SOUDER, Mervyn Edward CIM Mervyn Souder, "International Man of Shoes" and fitness devotee, born in Preston, Ontario, July 25, 1911 to Ephraim and Catherine Souder, died December 8, 2008, in the Fairview Mennonite Home Long Term Care Preston Wing, having lived a full 97 years. Leaving school at an early age, he started as a shipping assistant, with a predecessor to Savage Shoes Limited (Interco Canada), ultimately reaching Senior Vice President of Savage, long before his retirement in 1976. Widely known throughout the footwear manufacturing industry in North America and Europe, he was the only Canadian to chair the North American industry's Annual Management Conference and Trade Show. A motorcycle enthusiast, he owned dozens before volunteering for army service, in 1942. Serving in various Ontario depots, his peacetime love of all things mechanical was employed by the army as a RCEME vehicle mechanic. Merv was one of the first graduating CIM (Certified Industrial Manager) class and a past President of the founding Grand Valley Chapter of the Canadian Institute of Management. In retirement, he volunteered with Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO), completing more than 50 missions in footwear manufacturing, principally in Latin America and with Native Canadian groups. On one mission he lectured a two-week course in quality control at a technical college in Colombia, using no interpreter, having undertaken to learn to speak and write Spanish, only as his retirement neared. Merv was a charter member of the Probus Club of Cambridge (Canada No. 1), a Life Member of the Probus Club of Preston-Hespeler and a member and former elder of Central Presbyterian Church, Cambridge. Merv was predeceased by his sister, Irene and brother, Charles Robert. He is survived by the love of his life, wife Marjorie; son, Dennis (Deborah) and their daughters Sara and Molly; brothers and sisters-in-law, Wilfred, Jean and Gwen Orser, and Em Willett; nephews and nieces, Fred (Marla), Paul (Janine) and Janice Hacker, Beryl (Harvey) Schindel, Jonay Souder and Corey (Henry) Brunsveld, along with many great and great-great-nieces and nephews. The family expresses its sincere thanks to the caring staff of Fairview Mennonite Home, Cambridge. Private funeral arrangements have been completed. A celebration of Mervyn Souder's life will be held early in 2009 at Central Presbyterian Church, Cambridge. An announcement as to date and time, will appear in the Waterloo Region Record on January 30, 2009. Unknown Paper

  
  

• Sources

  [S2858] z Vit - ON - Birth Registration, Birth Certificate 051550 (1911). Name:Mervyn Edward Souder Date of Birth:25 Jul 1911 Gender:Male Birth Place:Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Father's name:Ephraim Henry Souder Mother's name:Catharine Buchholtz

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 25 Jul 1911 - Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 8 Dec 2008 - Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Parklawn Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth