It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of John Edward Peppler on Saturday, June 28th, 2025. He was 98. Born in Hanover, Ontario, on February 11th, 1927, he was the fourth and youngest child born to Norman and Lillian (nee Yungblut) Peppler. Known to everyone as “Ed”, he was loved by his wife of 72 years, Fern (Becker), by his son Keith (Tina), by his daughter Nancy (Rosario), by his grandson Cody (Erica), by his granddaughter Kelsey (Jeff) and by his great-grandsons Cohen and Jamison. He was adored and admired by every niece, nephew and friend and will be missed by his feline “little buddy,” Tripper. He is predeceased by his parents, his daughter Lisa and her partner Fred, and by his brothers’ William (“Bill”) and Fred, and by his sister Mary Caroline Lippert.

From a young age, Ed loved sports and partaking in outdoor activities. He adored animals and was a lifelong pet owner: a love passed on to his children. In his teens during WWII, he did farm production labour under the YMCA War Services program. At this coincident time, he undertook several apprenticeships at the factory learning all aspects of the family furniture manufacturing business to which he would eventually devote his entire working life. Always a progressively minded individual, Ed’s views for modernizing the Peppler Brothers Furniture factory, and for completely changing its manufacturing processes, often brought him into conflict with his more traditional leaning uncles. Thus, Ed took a break from the family business in 1950 and entered the University of New Brunswick where he excelled in studying Forestry and where he enjoyed participating in the universities variety stage show, the Red ‘n’ Black Revue.

Back home, however, demands were increasing on the family business. His uncles want him to return. Under pressure to commit to Peppler Brothers, Ed cut short his studies just shy of their completion and returned to Hanover to help run the family business. Taking on the role of Vice-President and General Manager, Ed’s enterprising thinking helped Peppler Brothers become the most prominent maker of bedroom and dining room furniture in Canada. Ed was approached in the 1960’s by his former professor at UNB to be part of an international commission that developed international standards for the grading of plywood. To keep himself sharp in the modern ways of design and manufacturing, Ed took Industrial Engineering courses at the University of Waterloo while steering the family business. In 1965, Peppler Brothers Furniture was sold to Stancor and became publicly owned. Ed played a major role at the time in the designing and building of a modern world class factory. It opened in 1966, and by 1969 through an additional business merger, Sklar-Peppler emerged to become the largest furniture manufacturer in Canada. As Director of Research and Product Development, Ed won several design awards while the business branched into other associations, most notably in its acquisition of piano manufacturer, Heintzman Ltd., in 1981. Ed enjoyed playing a significant role in this new Sklar-Peppler subsidiary. His work, experience and expertise resulted in extensive travel, most notably in Asia where Ed was in charge of a joint venture with China. Ed took great pride in the relationships and connections that he made with the people that worked with him and for him.

Hierarchies were not central to Ed’s view of the world: he knew all the employees at the factory by name and he enjoyed playing on the factory baseball team.

Ed was an active volunteer. A small sample of his volunteer work included being Chairman of the Board for the creation and construction of the Hanover and District Hospital, being on the Public Utilities Commission, and being on the Saugeen Valley Conservation Foundation, the latter for over 20 years many of which were as Chairman. He was a director with the Ontario Furniture Manufactures Association. And very notably, at home, Ed and Fern were dedicated foster parents for several years.

After retiring, he was a director at the Trade Facilitation Office in Ottawa which led to his volunteer work with CESO (Canadian Executive Service Organization). There were new furniture manufacturing projects looking for help and Ed had the expertise they needed. In all, Ed completed over ten successful assignments in locales all over the world and having his wife, Fern, able to join him made the experience that much more rewarding. On one such CESO project in Jamaica, Ed became aware of the lack of good equipment plaguing the local hospitals. Ed took it upon himself to arrange for old hospital beds in Ontario to be sent to Jamaica. It was no small undertaking, but was so perfectly typical of Ed: when he saw a need, he did something. After his many years with CESO, Ed continued to serve his local community, including as a member of both the Hanover Library Board for 13 years and the Bluewater Radio Board. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Senior of the Year award, from the town of Hanover, and was awarded two Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medals. None of this would have been possible without his wife, Fern, his perfect match and a tour de force in her own right. They shared a vision of what living a full life meant and they went out and lived it.

Away from work, Ed loved heading out to his lake-side property outside of Hanover, where he hunted, fished, and managed the forest. The Peppler family cottage in Southampton was a social hub with family and friends coming and going for over 80 years. He loved watching a big storm roll in, being down on the beach, out in the canoe, and getting the perfect shot of the sun setting behind Chantry Island. At home he enjoyed gardening, playing the piano and reading. He adored his children and grandchildren and through example, instilled the importance of hard work, and living life with integrity, humility and compassion. He was so proud they found and excelled at their individual passions. Ed’s pride in being a lifelong Hanoverian was unwavering. No matter where his career and volunteer work took him, Hanover was always home. He was a charming man, curious, innovative, involved and a lot of fun. His casual upbeat manner made everyone feel welcome and at ease and he told the most marvelous stories.

Family and friends are invited to a Memorial Service to be held at St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hanover on Tuesday, July 15th at 11am. Following the service a visitation will follow in the Hall with a light reception. A private family interment at the Hanover Cemetery will take place at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority, to the Owen Sound Animal Shelter, the Hanover and District Hospital, or to Doctors Without Borders. As an additional meaningful expression of sympathy, consider the opportunity to volunteer in your community. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Mighton Funeral Home, Hanover, Ontario. Condolences may be sent to the family at  www.mightonfuneralhome.ca