Most people know him as Dr. Thiessen, but the retired dentist has had his hands in many other ventures, too. Caring by nature, much of his outside involvement has been volunteering.
Henry Elmer Thiessen was born in the small town of Coaldale, Alta., roughly 100 km north of the U.S. border. Named after his father, Henry (the only one who called him Henry; everyone else called him Elmer), he grew up with four brothers and a sister. His sister loved being spoiled by her five brothers, Thiessen remarked.
His parents, Marie and Henry, had a farm in Grassy Lake, Alta., where he attended school through Grade 10. His father, a high school principal in Coaldale, encouraged him to finish his last two years of school in Lethbridge, as he believed the quality of the teaching was better. Lucky for Thiessen, his best bud and cousin, Bill Neumann, lived in Lethbridge, and he boarded with Bill, his aunt and uncle.
“I missed being home, but not desperately. We were living in the city rather than the farm, and I’d go home weekends as much as possible if I could get a ride.”
Once he graduated, he spent the next year attending Bethany College (formerly Bethany Bible Institute) in Hepburn, Saskatchewan – an important year, he noted with a chuckle.
“I went to bible school and I found a wife.”
Shirley (from Richmond, B.C.) and Thiessen started dating during their first year of bible school. Later, he was accepted into the University of Alberta’s School of Dentistry in Edmonton. This came after his brother and father encouraged him to apply
During school breaks, he’d head to Vancouver where Shirley was and also worked as a waiter for the Canadian Pacific Railway. In the summer of 1965, his dad called and asked if Thiessen had enough money for a ring.
In other words, his family liked Shirley, Thiessen said with a smile. He proposed and headed back to Edmonton. Shirley joined him once they married in June of 1966.
Thiessen graduated with his Doctorate of Dental Medicine in 1969. He and his friend Rudy Regehr, who was finishing up his physician degree, wanted to set up practices in the same community together. It was then Regehr saw a posting in the Mennonite Brethren Herald from Cariboo Bethel Church encouraging young professionals to come to Williams Lake.
They and their wives did a scouting trip that spring. The Bethel congregation made an impression on the families, and after graduation, they all moved to Williams Lake in 1969, with former classmates from B.C. asking, “You’re going where?”
At the time, Comer Medical Clinic was set up to accommodate five general practitioner physicians; however, it never came to fruition, and Thiessen and Regehr began renting out the space. Thiessen did a bit of renovating to transform part of the space into a dental clinic.
A year later, Regehr moved away with his family. Fifty-four years later, Thiessen is still here. He and Shirley had their six kids, Mark, Raymond, Tamara, Laura, Brad and Andrea, from 1970 to 1981, and now have 19 grandchildren. He officially retired from the Comer clinic (now called Williams Lake Dental) in Dec. 2016.
Still, there’s more to his story.
“I’ve always been a bit of an animal for politics.”
In the 80s, Thiessen was a school district trustee, serving on the board for nine years. This piqued his interest in politics, and at one point, he ran to be nominated for MLA and later M.P., neither of which worked out. He recalled the disappointment he felt after losing the M.P. nomination, thinking he was doing what God was telling him to do, but not getting anywhere. Still, his attitude remained positive.
“It’s because I didn’t get into political things that I had other opportunities.”
Thiessen was able to go on a few clinical mission trips and has been a board member of the International Christian Medical and Dentist Association since 2010, serving as chairperson for the last seven years.
He also served on the board of Columbia Bible College for nine years while his children attended the school in the late 80s and 90s. He and Shirley were both on the youth ministry team for seven years at the Bethel church. He has been on the leadership team for Camp Likely for 20 years. For 20 years, he has also worked in Restorative Justice.
His extensive volunteer work is a big part of what gives him purpose, something retirees need to live a fulfilled life, he said. He reminded younger professionals to keep balance in life, which he admitted is easier said than done.
For Thiessen, the significant part of his life was that dentistry wasn’t his whole life, but a piece of his life, he said.
“I had life outside of dentistry. Family and church and community.”
If you’ve had the opportunity to cross paths with Thiessen, you know he radiates joy within each of these spaces.
READ MORE: OUR HOMETOWN: Waste not, want not
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