Contractor.
Born on a farm at Saint Ouens on 5 June 1932, one of seven children of Ernestina Kort (1906-2004) and Phillip Rattai (1900-1970), he moved to Winnipeg in 1948 where, in 1952, he married Elfriede “Frieda” Hintz with whom he had three children. He worked for a few years as a journeyman carpenter and founded Kraft Construction in 1959, later the Kraft Group of companies. Over the next 45 years, Kraft built schools, bridges, churches, and other commercial/industrial buildings around Winnipeg, across western Canada, and in the North West Territories, Yukon, and northwestern Ontario. He sat on the boards of several organizations, among them the Winnipeg Construction Association (1979-1994). He also volunteered with charitable organizations, including his church Immanuel Pentecostal where he served on the board, directed the band, led the choir, and taught Sunday school. He died at Falcon Lake on 9 September 2004.
Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
1777 Silver Avenue, Winnipeg
1970
Flintoba Shopping Centre
Flin Flon
2002
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 14 September 2004.
“Mall founder passes away,” Flin Flon Reminder, 17 September 2004.
Henry Samuel Rattai, Childe/Schirle family tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 5 January 2021
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
