Golbeck, Peter (1877-1962)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1962 Jun 14 p. 8

Birth date: 1877 Mar 17

text of obituary:

PETER GOLBECK

Peter Golbeck was born March 17, 1877, in Friedensruh, Russia, the son of German parents, Jacob and Bertha (Fleischner) Golbek. At the age of 11 he migrated with his parents to America, locating near Hillsboro, Kansas. As a boy he suffered much privation and worked hard to supplement the parents' income, and consequently received little schooling.

As a young man he realized his lost condition, and was converted by accepting God's free salvation through the merits of Christ's death on the cross. He was baptized and became a member of a Methodist Church.

About the year 1900 he homesteaded a farm near Alva, Okla., where he also was joined in marriage in 1901 with Anna Baehler, who was of Swiss-Mennonite parentage. To this union were born two daughters and four sons, the youngest son dying in infancy.

After several years he and his family moved to Inola, Okla.; where the children might be reared in a Mennonite community and a more spiritual environment and also to enjoy better living conditions.

Early in 1920 our mother was suddenly taken in death. Late in the same year our father found another helpmate in Mrs. Agnes Krause Friesen. To this union were born two sons and one daughter. A son and daughter by her previous marriage were also added to the family, making a total of ten children.

In 1929 the family moved to Dinuba, Calif. where the yresided [sic] on a farm for 30 years. He was a stern but loving husband and father, working hard most of his life as a farmer, desiring that his children be respectable and prosperous citizens. He was interested in church affairs. Having become a member of the Mennonite Brethren Church, he served in various capacities including teaching in the Sunday school. In July of 1959 our parents entered the M. B. Home for the Aged in Reedley where on May 16, 1962, father passed away after a brief illness, reaching the age of 85 years and two months. He loved to discuss spiritual things and looked forward to the time of his earthly release. We have the assurance that he is with the Lord.

He is survived by his wife Agnes of Reedley; six sons, Ezra and Jake of Dinuba, Noah of Reedley, Clarence of Fresno, Calif., Aaron of Los Angeles, and Waldo Friesen of Ferndale, Wash.; four daughters, Anna, Mrs. Abe Hanneman of San Diego, Lydia, Mrs. Arthur Krause of Dinuba, Viola, Mrs. Wm. Will of Fresno, and Phoebe, Mrs. Wm. Byrd of Fresno; 20 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; three brothers, Edward of Dinuba, Herman of Fresno, and Adolf of Hamilton City, Calif.; and five sisters, Mrs. Bertha Jost of Hillsboro, Kan., Mrs. George Jacobson of Dinuba, Mrs. Minnie Peters of Hutchinson, Kan., Mrs. Pauline Hamm of Durham, Kan., and Mrs. John Mallard of Somerville, Mass. — The Family.