Waechter, Ernest (1893-1972)

Mennonite Brethren Herald obituary: 1972 Jun 30 p. 31

Birth date: 1893 Oct 18

text of obituary:

ERNEST WAECHTER

Ernest Wae'cMer, o·f Kelstern, Saskatchewan, was bem ·in Alexanderfe,J.dt, Russ'ia, on October 18, 1893; his parents were Ernest and Emily Leippi Waecihter. His father died when Ernes·t was net ye't bern; his mother remarried wh'ile he was stii'l an ,infant, and die,d when he was nine years o'id. His step-father then remarried. When Ernest was 13, the family moved to' Germany, where he oompleted h'is school'ing. A,t 21 Ernest returned to Russia, but th e war breaking 'out sho·rtly thereafter, he was dra·fted and served with the tro·ops in Tur'key unt ill the fightling stepped . In 1924,a't age 3D, he emigrated to' Canada, settling f.irM with the Jehn Sapinsky's at Bateman, Sask. In 1926 he took up a homestead near Kelstern, Sask . Ernest was saved in 1932 and was bapt'ized the same year and jO'ined the E'loim Mennonite Brethren Church. He rema'ined a faithfUlI member and attended church services regularly until the las1: 8 months e,f his IHe. In 1950 Erne'st was married to Agnes Geertzen of Swi'lt Current. Two chlildren blessed th'is un·ien, Ruth Elaine and Daniel. In 1957 the family moved dose to' the hamlet O'lf Ke,lstern. A·lter many years ef ha'rd work, his health dim1 inished, and ihe spent 1:he last few yea'rs lin semi" retirement. He died en May 29, at age 78. Ernest is survived by his wife, Agnes, hlis two c'hlHdren, one 'half-brother, Fred Goldbeck O'fCalgary, and one ha,lf s·i,ster, Christine Zi'lser of Maple Ridge, B.C five nlieces and Nve nephews in Canada, and many relatives in Germany. He was pre-deceased by hi'S parents, tIW'o 'bIl1Others, and one haIf s'iste-r. The whereabeuts ef his four stepbrothers is not k'newn. Th e 'fam-illy ,is sadde ned by :his s,udoden p'ass1 ing. bu,tiscemforted by the fact that tlhey shall meet again in glory. l1hefunera'l services were Iheld in the Elim MB Church ,in Kelstern on June 1, with Rev. J.J. Thiessen O't~idating, assisted by OHO Biech . An ec1:et sang ~wo numbers in s'Ong. Interment 'teolk p'la,ce at the 511im MB cemetery.