Wiebe, Margaret Marie (1919-2002)

Newton Kansan obituary: 2002 Aug 15 p. 2

Birth date: 1919 Oct 13

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2002 Oct 7 p. 8

text of obituary:

MARGARET WIEBE

Margaret Wiebe was born Oct. 13, 1919, to Bernhard and Helena Wiebe in Aberdeen, Idaho.

Her mother died when she was 9, and she and her younger sister Dorothy went to live with their Uncle Pete and Aunt Marie. After Aunt Marie's death, they lived with their father, who later married Selma Friesen. She was baptized upon her confession of faith in Jesus Christ and became a member at Aberdeen Mennonite Church.

After graduating from high school she attended Biola in Los Angeles and then worked in a department store tea room there. Later she worked in the dietary departments of a hospital in Pasadena, Calif.

After moving to Kansas, she worked at Axtell Hospital in Newton. She moved to Kansas to be near her sister and other relatives. Many vacation trips and family celebrations were enjoyed, including a raft trip down the rapids of Hell's Canyon in Idaho when she was 65 years old.

She was a faithful member of First Mennonite Church of Newton and participated in various activities such as helping on the library and funeral committees, singing in the choir and helping with children's Sunday school. Missions were important to her, and she supported mission work with her gifts, prayers and letters.

Reading was a delight, and she also enjoyed needle work, quilting and sewing dresses for her nieces. She took great interest in her nieces and nephews and sent many cards on birthdays and other special days.

She declared herself an optimist, and this was evident in the final difficult weeks of her life. She looked forward to being at home with the Lord. She died Aug. 14, 2002, at age 82.

Survivors include her sister, Dorothy Entz and her husband, Willie, of Whitewater, Kan.; and two brothers, Henry Wiebe and his wife, Bonnie, of Rollo, Mo., and David Wiebe and his wife, Leslie, of Fairway, Kan.