Friesen, Jacob (1928-1955)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1955 Mar 17 p. 1

Birth date: 1928

text of obituary:

Five Men Drown in Lake

FATHER AND TWO SONS AMONG VICTIMS AS BOAT SINKS IN ICY WATERS NEAR MISSION, B. C.

Sardis, British Columbia. — Five men from the Mission community, including a father and two sons, were drowned on March 1 in the ice-clogged waters o Stave Lake after a sunken log impaled their 20 foot craft as they were returning to work at the shake mill after a winter’s layoff.

Mass funeral services were held March 8 at the Mission Mennonite church of which they were members. Rev. Pankratz, Rev. H. H. Neufeld and Rev. Donaldson officiated.

The victoms [sic] were Cornelius C. Gerbrandt, 54; his sons Pete Gerbrandt, 29, unmarried, and Jake Gerbrandt, 27, who leaves a wife and four-month old son; Isaac Klassen, 47, survived by his wife Eva, five sons and one daughter; and Jacob Friesen, 27, who leaves his wife.

The small church including the basement was filled to capacity for the funeral. Still others stood in the rain and listened to the service by loudspeaker. All five coffins were transported on a special truck prepared for this purpose.

The unspoken and unanswered question in the hearts of many is, Why did they have to leave so suddenly, all of them, with no one left to tell the story? It is believed that a drum of gas which they had loaded on the boat rolled to one side that stormy afternoon. They were found close to the ice-packed shore, one only ten feet away. All were swimmers, but police said they had no chance due to the ice in the lake.