Wiens, Gertrude Sieglinde Janz (1909-1978)

Latest revision as of 17:27, 14 April 2021

Mennonite Brethren Herald obituary: 1978 Apr 28 p. 35

Birth date: 1909 July 22

text of obituary:

(Mrs.) Gertrude Sieglinde Wiens was born on July 22, 1909 in the village of Tiege, Molotschna, south Russia, the daughter of Benjamin and Maria (nee Rogalsky) Janz. On April 9, 1978 she peacefully went home to the Lord following a severe stroke.

After a happy and carefree childhood, she emigrated to Canada with her mother and siblings in 1926. Her father followed later. In Canada she experienced the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour. She was baptized upon the confession of her faith and received into the Coaldale (Alta.) Mennonite Brethren Church.

Gertrude Janz and David B . Wiens were married in October, 1939. The Lord gave them four children, whom she dearly loved. Her heartfelt longing was that on That Day none might be missing. The Wienses served the Lord among the Slavic peoples on the prairies for ten years. Later, when her husband was led into Russian radio ministry, Mrs. Wiens shared the burden of the lost, and the joy of those who were found. Often she thanked the Lord for souls saved in the Soviet Union.

The Wienses also served the Lord together for 18 years in the Vancouver Mennonite Brethren Church, where he was pastor. There was an ever increasing breadth and depth in her life of prayer. Together they made pastoral visits and ministered to the sick. In her Master's School, she had learned to say the right word at the right time, and to convey comfort by the touch of her hand. In her gentleness and wisdom, she had a unique way with young and old.

She leaves to mourn her beloved husband, David; two sons and their wives, Paul and Nita Wiens and four children of Winnipeg, and Victor and Sandra Wiens of London, Ont.; two daughters, Viola of West Germany and Edith of Switzerland; three sisters, Helen (Mrs. Henry) Thiessen, Mary (Mrs. Jake) Neumann and Martha (Mrs. Jake) Dueck}; one brother, Jake and Margaret Janz; and many other relatives and innumerable friends who loved her deeply. Psalm 116:7.