Pianist, professor dies at 90
Esther Wiebe—long-time music professor, pianist and composer—died in Winnipeg on January 26 at age 90. She is survived by her husband George; children, Robert (Verna) and Peter (Ruth); daughter-in-law Marlene Wiebe; 12 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; extended family and friends. She was predeceased by her son, Tim Wiebe. Born in 1932 in Plum Coulee, Man., Wiebe…
Missionary to Argentina dies
Delbert Erb, who served God in Argentina for more than seven decades, died June 14, in Buenos Aires. “He decided that his heart and ashes would remain in Choele Choel, [Argentina],” said Rafael Stábile, pastor of the Mennonite church where Delbert and his wife Frieda Schellenberg Erb were members. Beginning his ministry in 1951, when…
Church planter-entrepreneur leaves rich legacy in France
Robert Witmer, who served in France from 1956 to 1984 with the Mennonite Board of Missions (MBM), helped to plant the Châtenay-Malabry church in Paris and was instrumental in opening doors for people with disabilities. He died on Dec. 2, 2021. Robert “Bob” Witmer helped bring life to the vision of the church as a…
Pastor, conference leader dies at 96
Jacob “Jasch” Tilitzky, longtime pastor and leader in Mennonite Church British Columbia and the wider Mennonite church family, died on Nov. 9 in Abbotsford. He was born in Gruenfeld, Ukraine, on October 21, 1925, the youngest of eight children, and immigrated to Waldheim, Sask., with his parents when he was less than a year old.…
Doris Weber blazed a trail for women in ministry
“There is a song that sings deep within me,” Doris Weber wrote in Mary A. Schiedel’s book, Pioneers in Ministry. It is that song which guided Doris throughout her life, and accompanied her as she died on Sept. 9, 2021. Doris was born on April 20, 1930, to Allan and Veronica Jantzi and lived her…
A planter of seeds of good news
Three months after a cancer diagnosis, Erwin H. Rempel, 76, died June 25, at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va. Erwin and Angela, his wife of 55 years, served with Mennonite Mission Network and a predecessor agency, the Commission on Overseas Mission (COM), on four continents, from 1975 to 2009. Jack Suderman, a former…
Remembering John H. Neufeld
John H. Neufeld died on Jan. 11, 2021, after a life of serving the church in numerous places and in various roles. Born in Winnipeg, he lived and served in British Columbia, where he directed a camp and taught school at various grade levels over the years. He also taught at the Seminário Bíblico Mennonita…
‘A well-nourished spirit’
Sue Steiner left behind a huge legacy when she passed away on Aug. 26, 2019. As beloved wife to Sam Steiner for 50 years, treasured aunt to a number of nieces and nephews, and a cherished member of several circles of close friends, she left personal legacies. As a woman who served the church as…
A life of grace and ‘holy impatience’
“We always knew Dad was a special man,” said Chuck Kruger, “but we have come, after his passing, [to learn] more about the influence he had in many ways.” William (Bill) Kruger had a profound influence on many lives. Three friends paid tribute to him at his funeral at Nutana Park Mennonite Church in Saskatoon…
Remembering Margaret Loewen Reimer
“A student of literature and a Mennonite journalist with a special passion for the arts,” is how Margaret Loewen Reimer introduced herself during a lecture series entitled “Mennonites and the artistic imagination” at Canadian Mennonite Bible College, in Winnipeg, in 1998. That self-introduction rang true back then, and still does as I reflect on Marg’s…
