Dr. Jake Letkeman

Jacob Letkeman was born in 1940 in Waldheim, Saskatchewan. He grew up on a small farm with his parents, Jacob and Agnes, his four sisters and one brother.  They were not wealthy but had enough to survive.

Dad dedicated his life to the Lord when he was 16 years old. This was a life-changing moment – serving God and bringing Him glory became his goal in life. He decided to become a pastor to help achieve this goal. He went to bible school for a year and a half but then decided that he could serve better as a doctor.

The ‘60’s was a busy decade for Dad with his marriage to Myrna, the births of three children (Kenton, Marcy and Darren), graduation from medical school and moving to Meadow Lake.

During medical school, he had a life-changing visit to Haiti where he saw first-hand how people were living and suffering, and realized how blessed he was.

In his role as a physician, Dad began to see the dangers of alcohol abuse. For several years he spent Friday nights at Alcoholics Victorious (AV). This was a more Biblical version of AA and through it many alcoholics and their spouses were helped.

After many years as a family doctor, he wanted to provide the north with ultrasound. He got his license and began travelling to La Loche and Ille-a-la-cross to work with expecting mothers. He delivered many babies in Meadow Lake and across the North.

Dad put a lot of importance on the people and relationships in his life. He could be counted on to find the lonely or outcasts. Mom and Dad’s door was always open and we often had surprise visitors just needing to talk. Us children would go and occupy ourselves as Mom and Dad would listen to their stories, offer them support, and tell them about God.

He wanted to teach his kids this value so he would often pick up hitch-hikers when we were traveling together. For three young children, these characters often looked scary and smelled even worse. Dad didn’t care how drunk they were – he would stop to help anybody.

He and Mom also welcomed those in need into our home and family. They took in Joe, a 6’9″ boy that was in trouble with the law. They also accepted custody of two girls whose mother was struggling with alcohol, Serena and Dione. These children are still loved as their own.

One winter, Dad and our uncle Sam went to Belize. While there, he met a missionary nurse who had been working in a small clinic by herself for many years. He saw a need and decided to take the family there the next winter so he could spend time helping.

Dad and Mom didn’t like traditional holidays. They avoided the tourist places and went where they could meet real people. In Kenya, Dad provided medical care in a small village clinic with few supplies and no running water, while Mom taught young girls how to sew school uniforms. In Israel, they had dinner with a Palestinian family in their home. In Ukraine, he ate a meal with the family living in the same home his father had lived in. They traveled to Alberta to help build cabins at a church camp with Mennonite Disaster Service. They again served with MDS in Texas to help rebuild homes after a hurricane.

About 30 years ago, Dad, along with a few others, began the Door of Hope. This was just another way he tried to help his community and the hurting people he encountered as a doctor.

Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011. This was a shock as Dad lived an active healthy lifestyle. As the years passed Dad went through many procedures and treatments which all slowed him down, but he never lost his passion to serve others and share Christ. How could he do this through COVID and cancer treatments? He could write. He wrote two books. The first, “80 Years of Eternity: My Personal Journey with God,” was motivated by love for his nine grandchildren. His second book entitled “Excuse Me, Jesus.  Did you really say…?” was “motivated by love for all the people adrift in society…” Through these books he shared many of the things he had learned about loving God and bringing Him glory. His goal was that he could motivate others to do the same.

In everything, Dad shared with others his deep knowledge of the love of God.