Durksen, David Franz (1899-1977)

Mennonite Brethren Herald obituary: 1977 Dec 09 p. 35

Birth date: 1899 Aug 22

text of obituary:

DAVID FRANZ DURKSEN

Rev. David F. Durksen was born to Franz and Margaretha (Vogt) Durksen on August 22,1899 in the village of Pastwa, Molotschna Colony, south Russia. His mother died when he was seven years, and after staying with various relatives he made his home with his maternal aunt, Mrs. B. Janz of Conteniusfeld. He accepted the Lord in his teens and was ordained to the ministry of the Mennonite Brethren Church in 1921. He served with the White Army during the Russian Revolution.

In 1921 he married Aganetha Dyck of Sparrau and they moved to Canada in 1926, arriving in Coaldale, Alta., on December 2 of that year. Two years later the Durksens moved to a farm west of Coaldale. He also assisted in the leadership of the Coaldale Church, organized in 1926. In 1932 they moved to the Glenwood district where they farmed until 1941, when they moved to a farm south of Pincher Creek, Alta. Here he again combined farming and the ministry of the Word; in 1948 he was instrumental in starting the Pincher Creek Mennonite Brethren Church. He retired from the ministry in 1968, and moved from the farm to the town of Pincher Creek in 1971.

Mr. Durksen was never a healthy man, but God sustained him. In his retirement he had many enjoyable visits with the people he had lived and worked with all his life. On September 2 he fractured his hip and was hospitalized. On September 20 God called him home. A funeral service was held in the Foothills Gospel Chapel in Pincher Creek with Rev. Victor Nickel ministering.

He leaves to mourn his beloved wife, Aganetha; four sons , Peter and David of Pincher Creek and Abram and Jacob of Edmonton; two daughters, Irma (Mrs. George) Hildebrand of Skiff, Alta., and Annie (Mrs. Albert) Affleck of Rosemary, Alta.; and many relatives and friends.