Klassen, Anna Janzen Hiebert (1877-1968)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1968 Sep 12 p. 8

Birth date: 1877 Jun 14

text of obituary:

• Funeral services for Mrs. Anna Klassen, 91, who died Sept. 4 at Bethesda Hospital in Goessel were held Saturday forenoon at the Bethel College Church. Rev. Esko Loewen officiated, and burial we made in the Tabor Cemetery. A native of Mt. Lake, Minn., Mrs. Klassen taught school there, and in 1900 was married to J. D. Hiebert. He died in 1913. In 1929 she married Abram J. Klassen, and they lived in the Hesston and Newton communities. Mr. Klassen died in 1950, and since 1964 Mrs. Klassen had been a guest at the Bethesda Home in Goessel. She leaves four daughters, Mrs. John L. Moyer of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Mrs. Wm. Penner of Bristol, Vt., Mrs. Albert D. Klassen of Newton, and Mrs. A. T. Mueller of Cape Girardeau, Mo.; four step-daughters, Mrs. Ben Unruh, Mrs. Arnold Goertzen, and Mrs. Henry B. Schmidt Jr., all of Peabody, and Mrs. J. M. Nachtigal of Buhler; a step-son, Albert D. Klassen of Newton, 24 grandchildren and 47 great-grandchildren.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1968 Sep 26 p. 13

text of obituary:

MRS. ANNA HIEBERT KLASSEN

Anna Hiebert Klassen was born June 14, 1877 on a newly settled farm at the edge of Mt. Lake, Minn. In 1876 her parents, Heinrich and Anna Gerz Janzen, had left Russia to find freedom of conscience in America. Peter, age 4, had died en route and was buried at Londonderry, England.

At age seven she started to village school. Before Anna's father died in 1892, he had entrusted her further education to his friend, I. I. Bargen, pioneer educator. Thus in the fall of 1893 she set out for Newton, Kan. to attend Bethel Academy for two years.

Anna returned to Mt. Lake to teach in the public school system under I. I. Bargen. After four years in the schoolroom she was married to J. D. Hiebert, close friend of her older brother. The Hiebert family was blessed with five daughters, one of whom died in infancy.

The sudden death of J. D. Hiebert in 1913 left mother alone with four daughters from 12 years to one and a half years. However resourcefulness was one of her priceless assets, as was appreciation of spiritual and cultural values, so that we children never lacked good books. She also took us to good concerts, lectures, and plays. She was our companion, entering into our play as well as our problems.

In 1929 she became the second mother in the Abram Klassen family, which meant moving to a Kansas farm, and four daughters and two sons were added to her family.

In 1940 Father and Mother Klassen retired from the farm to Newton, Kan. and transferred their membership from Tabor Church to the Bethel College Mennonite Church. When Father Klassen died in 1950 she joined the household of their children, Albert D. and Agatha Klassen, in Newton. In January 1964 she entered Bethesda Home at Goessel, Kan., remaining there until her final illness, when on Aug. 3, 1968 she was taken to the Bethesda Hospital in Goessel. As the illness progressed, so her eagerness to "go home" increased. That longing was fulfilled on Sept. 4, 1968, when her journey of 91 years ended and she was at peace in her Father's House.

She is survived by four Hiebert daughters: Mrs. John L. (Ruth) Moyer of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Mrs. William (Sara) Penner of Bristol, Vermont, Mrs. Albert D. (Agatha) Klassen of Newton, and Mrs. A. T. (Helen) Mueller of Cape Girardeau, Mo.; four step-daughters, Mrs. Ben (Margaret) Unruh, Mrs. Arnold (Agnes) Goertzen, and Mrs. Henry B. (Esther) Schmidt, Jr., all of Peabody and Mrs. J. M. (Edna) Nachtigal of Buhler; one step-son, Albert D. Klassen of Newton; 24 grandchildren and 47 great-grandchildren.

One daughter, Clara, and a stepson, Herbert Klassen, preceded her to Glory.

The Mennonite obituary: 1968 Sep 24 p. 592