Brede Langerud

BREDE LANGERUD was born in central Norway in 1922, the second child of Gunnar and Borghild. Brede was only 4 years old when the family immigrated to Canada in 1926. They settled near family in East End, Saskatchewan.  In 1928 the family moved to Poplar Hill in Northern Alberta, near Grande Prairie.

There Brede attended the Baldour School for five years, finishing with an eighth grade education. Brede worked in the area and on the family farm – all with horses - until he joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1942, at the age of 20. Brede trained in Eastern Canada and was deployed overseas. He served in N. Africa, Italy and Central Europe. He returned home to Canada in 1945 and was fully discharged on February 15, 1946.

Upon his return from the War, Brede worked various jobs. This included the Alaska and Hart Highway projects, logging and even guiding hunters in the wilderness he loved.

While living in Dawson Creek, the Lord Jesus began a change in Brede’s heart.  He surrendered his life completely to the Lord Jesus in January 1948 at the age of 26. It was a year later, on his birthday that Brede married his little sweetheart, Annie Byskal, who has been his faithful wife for 64 years.

Those first few years after returning home from the War were very transitional. Brede, along with his two brothers, pooled their resources to acquire land through the Veteran’s Land Act. In 1948 they purchased 2,000 acres in the Fort St John region of Northern BC.

With a farm, a new wife and growing family, Brede and the family shuttled between Dawson Creek in the winter and the farm in the summer. They lived on the farm from 1950 -1957, but in 1953 Brede began to minister to a small congregation of people that were gathering in homes in Rose Prairie, north of Fort St John.

Change would come again in 1957 when the family moved into Ft St John to pastor Ft St John Gospel Tabernacle, while still continuing to hold services in Rose Prairie.

In 1960, Brede and the family moved to Dawson Creek where he took over as Pastor of Revival Centre from his brother-in-law, Ed Byskal. Brede’s brother Henry took over the growing fellowship at Rose Prairie, followed in later years by his brother George and in 1983, his son Wayne.

In 1963 Brede and the family left the North country and moved to Weyburn, Saskatchewan. There Brede accepted the call to become Pastor of Weyburn Gospel Tabernacle, while supplementing his income working at Weyburn Hardware. They lived in Weyburn for the next eight years until 1971 when Northern BC would once again beckon.

In 1971 Brede accepted the invitation to become Pastor of Chetwynd Gospel Tabernacle in the thriving town of Chetwynd, BC. Brede pastored for the next nine years until he resigned in the fall of 1980, but continued to live there until the spring of 1981.

Alone in an “empty nest”, they moved to Eston, Saskatchewan to live near three of their six children. The Eston Full Gospel Bible Institute then offered Brede and Anne positions as Dean of men and women. This would be Brede’s last fulltime employment until his retirement in 1983.

Brede and Anne then left Saskatchewan and moved to the warmer climes of Osoyoos, BC where they spent the next nine years.

In 1992, with age creeping on, it was deemed necessary that Brede and Anne move to be closer to family in Surrey, BC. Then in 2008, Brede and Anne made their final move together into an apartment in Langley Gardens.

In July, 2011, with Brede’s health declining, he was admitted into the Langley Hospital Care Facilities. After several months, Brede was moved back to Langley Gardens, where he lived out the rest of his days on the Care Level.

Brede was 91 when he was peacefully called home to his eternal reward on September 4. It was with family at his side, singing “Going Home, I’m going Home…” that Brede departed this world for a better place in the presence of our Lord.

Brede was predeceased by their daughter Marilyn, in 1988 and is survived by his loving wife, Anne, five children, Shirley [Lorne]; Wayne [Barbara]; Lois [Henning]; Gary [Shelly]; Rebekah [Tony]; 13 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren; his brother Henry [Ruth]; and sister Marie [Gordon] along with many nieces and nephews.

Brede will always be remembered as a man who loved the Lord, his family and fervently lived his Christian testimony in service to the Lord and all who knew him.

You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence for the family.