Friesen, Susanna Dick (1907-2002)

"Mennonite Brethren Herald" obituary: 2003 Feb 7 p. 20

Birth date: 1907 Oct 31

text of obituary:

SUSANNA DICK FRIESEN

Susann a Dick Fr iesen pa sse d awa y Dec. 12. She was born Oct. 31 1907 to Peter Dueck and Ju stina Klassen in Schoenfeld, Schoenfeld Colony, Ukraine. In 1910 the family mov ed to an estate near Besheran, Crime a. Her '--___~L..---' mother died in 1911. Her father married Katharina Rempel in 1912. They moved to Tsche-Tsche, Crimea in 1915 and to Gnadenfeld, Molotschna in 1918. She accepted Jesus during revival meeting s, was baptized at 17 and joined the MB church. They immigrated to Waterloo, Ont. in fall 1925. For the next 2 years she milked cows and did housework on the Hallman f arm , sep- arated from her fam ily. She met jacob Friesen at George St. Mennonite Church youth activ- ities. They marri ed Oct. 5, 1929 and lived in Waterloo until 1932. jacob then found work at E.D. Smith in Winona, Ont. for 2 years. When Peter Wall offered land to Mennonites near Virgil, Ont. in 1935, they chose 10 acres. They worked hard on this farm and beca me charter members of Virgil MB Church. Sh e taught Sunday school, first nursery moms and then, for almost 40 years, preschoolers. After jacob died in 1965, she moved to the retire- ment home they had built in Virgil. Here sh e hosted many visitors. In 1986 she moved to Pl easa nt Manor, where she participated in singing groups, sewed quilts for MCC and vis- ited other residents. She was a faithful prayer partner for her family and missionaries. She was a prolific letter writer and kept a personal journal from her teens until mid-1999. Sh e is remembered as ch ee rful, gentle and ener- getic. She is mourned by children Hedwig Enns of Sanford, Fla., Henry of Penticton, B.C., Lou of St Catharines, Ont., Ernie of Virgil, Mar- garet Borne of Kelowna, B.C., Bert of Win- nipeg and Edith Block of Saskatoon; 31 grand- children; 69 great-grandchildren; 1 great- great-grandchild; and 1 sister. The memo ria l service was Dec. 16 in Cornerstone Comm u- nity Church, Vir g il, with Victor Loewen and Georg e Wichert ministering.