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鈥淗e would probably tell us we had wasted money on this,鈥� joked Lions Club member Dave Neilson at Helmut Kreiner鈥檚 bench commemoration on Friday.
Because Kreiner never wanted a thank you, he only liked to give.
But when Kreiner died in September 2018, Jasper Lions Club wanted to do something to commemorate his decades of dedication to his community.
Kreiner was a member of the Lions Club for 57 years, 25 of which were in Jasper looking after Lions Park on Pine Avenue and tirelessly giving to charities, the community and the Lions.
Murray Ostrander, president of the Jasper Lions Club, said: 鈥淗e left a big hole in our club and there was a lot of work left behind.
鈥淭his is the least we could do and something we wanted to do to dedicate to his service in this park and Jasper.鈥�
Kreiner鈥檚 bench, set in the park he loved so much, faces Whistlers Mountain and the playground.聽
His family joined the Lions on Friday to commemorate the bench and Bernie Kreiner, Helmut鈥檚 son, thanked the club.
鈥淒ad was a Lion through and through,鈥� he said.
鈥淗e taught the rest of us about community and being a part of the community.
鈥淚t is the motto of the Lions, but it鈥檚 so important to make sure your community is well looked after.
鈥淗e thought more about giving and the reason to give - because people need it and the community needs it.鈥�
Kreiner, born in Germany in 1928, immigrated to Canada in 1952 and married his wife, Gertraud, in 1956.
The two settled in Whitecourt and Kreiner sat on the town council from 1977 to 1986 and served as mayor there from 1986 until he retired from politics in 1992.
After Gertraud died in 1994, Kreiner moved to Jasper where he spent his last years giving back to the community, travelling around the world and spending time with his grandchildren.
