Thiessen, Ruby Siebert (1926-2017)

Mennonite World Review obituary: 2017 Feb 27 p. 14

Birth date: 1926 Dec 24

Text of obituary:

Longtime mission worker in Japan dies at 90

By Wil LaVeist

Mennonite Mission Network

Ruby Siebert Thiessen, a mission worker who helped develop the Mennonite church in Japan, died Jan. 16 in South Carolina. She was 90.

Thiessen and her husband, Bernard, served 33 years in Japan, beginning in 1952. Sent by the General Conference Mennonite Church, they were among the first group of Mennonite mission workers to develop churches in Japan. Their efforts in holding language and Bible study gatherings led to some of the first Japanese Mennonite churches.

"Ruby was a deeply spiritual person," said Alice Ruth Ramseyer, who served with the Thiessens. "I always wanted to follow her example into a deeper personal faith."

Mary Derksen, who also served in Japan, said Thiessen was "a wonderful hostess, with an open heart and door for all. She had a good grasp of the culture of Japan, and I always enjoyed hearing her encounters with neighbors. I was also impressed with Ruby's understanding of the Bible and her spiritual depth."

Born Dec. 24, 1926, in York County, Neb., to Abraham and Helen (Friesen) Siebert, she graduated from Grace Bible Institute in 1948.

Retiring in 1985, the Thiessens were active at Bethesda Mennonite Church in Henderson, Neb., for 24 years. In 2008 they moved to Greenville, S. C.

Survivors include her children, Beth (Robert) Schmidt of Greenville, Royce (Nancy) Thiessen of Morristown, Tenn., and Ron (Beth Ann) Thiessen of Weatherford, Okla.; a sister, Lydia Klaassen of Mount Hope, S. C.; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband and a sister, Rachel Siebert.