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Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe Mary Wiebe
In Memory of
Mary
Wiebe
1928 - 2018
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Condolence From: Henry
Condolence:
Eulogy

My mother’s number one job was the well-being of our family.

However it is necessary to remind us how difficult a life Mary and Abe endured when they were young and appreciate that we are here today because of their perseverance.

Mom was born in Felsenbach Ukraine on June 2, 1928, one of five children of Helen and John Penner. Sadly all of her siblings predeceased her.

Her early years were good while Falsenbach flourshed.

However, these good times were short-lived, and Mary was forced to grow up quickly when her father and all the other men in the village were forcibly removed and exiled in 1938 by Russian soldiers. She not only lost her father but all of her friends and relatives suffered the same fate. I cannot imagine the impact that that had on the village. Mary never heard of him again. She was just 10 years old, and was raised by her mother and extended family.

Then WW 2 broke out. The German army invaded Russia. The family and villages were treated well by the Germans, as they were all German speaking and had a common enemy. When Russia pushed the invaders back, much of the Mennonite population of Ukraine followed them into Germany. They travelled by horse drawn wagons and endured severe hardship.

In late 1943, the family moved along with other refugees to West Prussia (now Poland), then on to Dresden.

Miracles do happen as the family, now all women ( plus one baby nephew), survived the infamous Allied carpet bombings of Dresden in 1945. If you have seen pictures of Dresden immediately after the bombings you will understand why this was truly a miracle.

The family consisted of Mary's mother, her sisters Helen , Nettie, Anna and cousins Helen and Anna's baby boy, John .

After the war they all moved to Bielefeld, Germany.

Although these times were very difficult there was a silver lining. After the war was over Abe arrived in Bielefeld looking for his immediate family. Tragically they had just been removed to Russia shortly before he arrived. After arriving in Bielefeld he first met Mary, his future wife and our mother.

In the hopes of improving his prospects, Abe immigrated to Canada in 1947.

In 1948, the Penner family left Holland on the SS Volendam, where they immediately hit a mine. Fortunately it did not explode, and the family made it to Canada. She settled near Brandon, Manitoba. Abe and Mary were reunited and married in November 1951 and settled in Brandon.

Mary was mainly a stay at home mom. She raised three children Henry , Susan and Don. Mary has seven wonderful grandchildren, now aged 23 to 31, and living from coast to coast. Ryan, Jessica, Curtis, Stephen, Stacie, Alexa and Devin:

Mom was a devoted wife, through good times and difficult times. They were happily married for 63 years.


She had many skills, she was the family treasurer, gardener, homemaker, baker.........

I remember in the early days , dad would bring home his weekly pay envelope (cash) , she would dole out the allowance, pay the bills and deposit the balance if any. It actually worked well, dad was happy with this arrangement..

She was the gardener and she maintained the huge family vegetable garden until we moved to Fernwood.

Mom was a fabulous baker and that is why you will see the baking in the memorial programme.

Its appropriate that the summer fair is on today as it brings back many fond memories where mom would take us all to the summer fair. It was also our tradition to take our lawn chairs and set up in front of our aunt's house to watch the fair's annual parade. Good times.

We were never rich financially but we had an enviable childhood, mom alwasy had our back.

Even so we had some disagreements. I remember some arguments regarding school dances, she was not a fan. Don and Susan should thank me for breaking new ground in this matter.

Notwithstanding a few disagreements I had a great childhood and she always supported me. I remember showing off with my Norton motorcycle on Clear Lake's main street which ended with me being requested to attend traffic court, I can't recall why she was there, but I clearly remember her standing up and forcibly telling the judge that I was good boy and would not do it again. I was let off with just a warning! It was embarrassing at the time but it shows her resolve to look after her family.


There were other similar events where she acted like a mother bear protecting her cubs..

For example a drunk neighbour was threatening my very very young brother with a 2x2, my mother saw this and flew out the door to protect him.

Her quick action saved both Susan and Don from very serious injuries when a reckless semi driver tried to mow them down. She saved them from serious injury but not her car.

My dad was devoted to her, even after 63 years. When he fell ill, he told me that his number one regret is that he would be unable to look after her after he was gone. Devotion!

While I loved my mother and will miss her forever, her passing just 3 days after her 90th birthday is bittersweet. She has finally beaten that heinous disease that gradually erased her memories and robbed her of her ability to communicate. She is now reunited with dad, which is good!












Tuesday June 12, 2018
Condolence From: Anne Krueger
Condolence: Sincere condolences to the families of Mary Wiebe. May each of you be blessed to experience being "near to the heart of God" and feeling His peace and comfort. Anne Krueger, Winkler. (formerly Brandon.)
Monday June 11, 2018
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