Yesterday afternoon a celebration of life was held in memory of founder and owner of Shur-Gro, Ron Helwer, at the Victoria Inn in Brandon.
visionary agricultural entrepreneur and longtime community leader in Brandon, passed away on Friday at age 92, May 23, 2025
It was one week ago, on Friday May 23rd, when this visionary in the Ag sector and Brandon community leader said farewell to friends and family at the age of 92. But the legacy Ron leaves behind will not be soon forgotten. He will always be remembered by his family and friends, the many staff members both past and present, and the thousands of customers served over the years, for his passion and dedication to the industry he loved - agriculture.
Helwer was born and raised in Libau, MB on a mixed-farming operation, the family producing and selling a variety of crop and dairy products. He married Vera Katazinski in 1956 and together they raised three children, Sherry, Reg and Gail.
Ron was inducted into both the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2023.
‘Ron began his business career in 1952 as a partner with his father Fred and bother Harvey in Libau where they operated a Massey Harris dealership. In 1956 they expanded their business to include a dealership in Selkirk. In 1960, he purchased a bulk fuel dealership in East St. Paul; it operated until 1968. Since 1968, Ron, along with family members, has operated Shur-Gro Farm Services in Brandon. Munro Farm Supplies became part of Shur-Gro Farm Services in 1990. Another of Ron’s enterprises is Can-Pro Equipment, a sales and service business for field spraying equipment,’ states his bio from the Manitoba Agriculture Hall of Fame.
A little over a year ago, in April 2024, Helwer attended the Killarney Shur-Gro's 50th Anniversary celebration at the Shamrock Centre.
At that celebration he shared memories of the beginnings of the family-owned operation to a full audience. He recited personal stories of the many challenges and accomplishments from throughout the decades, from the original start of the company in 1968 in Brandon, to the opening of the second location in Killarney in 1974.
At that special dinner, Helwer shared the positives of the 1970's as a time of growth, of the struggles of the 80's with the high interest rates, but also how his family and staff held fast to their mandate of serving their communities both in the good and in the difficult economic times.
In all, Shur-Gro would grow to serve their customers from 14 locations in Manitoba, the furthest north being Shoal Lake, the furthest south being Waskada, MB.
At that 50th celebration, Killarney producer and long-standing customer Barry Reimer took the time to shake the hand of Ron Helwer, thanking him for his dedication to an industry that he too has loved all his life.
"In 1985 I was like 19 years old, and I needed to put the crop in, and I didn't know which fertilizer to use; phosphate, sulfur, potassium, and how much to use,” explains Reimer. “I knew how to do it, but I just didn't know what or how much to put in, so I went and talked to our local Shur-Gro."
"The manager at the time, Tom Dunlop, was working and he kind of took me under his wing and showed me everything I needed to do,” says Reimer. “I said, look, this one's going into barley. This one's going into wheat, and he led me right through everything. He told me how much to put on each field. And our farm has been going ever since, and we are still dealing with Shur-Gro,” he adds.
“Tom Dunlop was a very good man, very personable with you, just like Ron Helwer,” continues Reimer. “I was able to talk to Ron on their anniversary here in town and tell him about that story of his employee, Tom. It really meant a lot to him too. And he even remembered who I was. Who am I? But he knew my name.”
“But it was just to let him know how much I appreciated the fact that my career in agriculture continued because of them. If it wasn't for them, I would seriously say I wouldn't be farming today,” adds Reimer.
"You know, one day while picking up fertilizer at Shur-Gro in Brandon with the semi and seeing Ron walk in - and he was 90 at that time - he came and greeted every one of his staff. And he knew them all by name, you know... just walking everywhere like a 40-year-old! I was so impressed to watch that and every person he talked to said the same thing. They said the man's amazing, like at his age, for what he can do and what he can recall. It was really amazing.”
"And the other thing too, he was very personable and just really encouraged his staff and the people around him and he was humble at the same time,” reflects Reimer. “He was the kind of person you'd want as a friend; there's no doubt about that. Not because of his success, but just because of who he was.”
If friends so desire, donations in memory of Ron Helwer may be made to the Brandon Regional Health Centre Foundation, 150 McTavish Avenue East, Brandon MB, R7A 2B3 or to a charity of choice.