Obituary of Fredrick Bernhard Schreiner

Our Fred slipped the bonds of this earth on October 19 2021, peacefully in his sleep.

He was the beloved cobbler of Cranbrook and was to many people including myself, a good friend. I remember how he would shut down the rumbling machines of shoe repair in order have a chat even though he was running behind. He loved a good laugh or the opportunity to talk about all things mechanical, most especially John Deere tractors. Fred took pride in his abilities to get the job done no matter what the task and to him, mechanical devices were like a puzzle to be solved. 

He truly was a craftsman in his trade that couldn’t abide the look of unpolished leather, as on multiple occasions he insisted upon polishing the work boots I was wearing while leaving me to stand in my socks while customers stared. Fred had a soft spot in his heart for wiener dogs but loved to spoil all the dogs that visited his shop and in return they loved him back because as we all know, dogs are the smartest creatures of all. 

Although he should have had more than 65 short years, he lived every one of them fully and lead a life of adventure in his younger days. Sailing, motor biking and travelling down the road in his precious Freightliner, of which he was most proud. 

A confident and competent people person if ever there was, Fred is survived by is wife Ellie, mother Edith and sisters Monica and Barbara.

A celebration of his life will be held in the new year. A live stream will be available, so that those in faraway places can join us in sharing our memories of our friend Fred who surely is somewhere out there on the road again driving that big purple truck with Willie Nelson playing on the radio and a wiener dog in his lap.