Penner, Benjamin Herman (1901-1968)

Mennonite Brethren Herald obituary: 1968 Feb 23 p. 17

Birth date: 1901 Jan 19

text of obituary:

BENJAMIN HERMAN PENNER

Benjamin Herman Penner of Coaldale, Alberta, was born January 19, 1901, in Crimea, Russia. It was during an evangelistic meeting, conducted by Herman Rempel in 1925, that he accepted Christ as his Saviour. The following year he was baptized and accepted into the Evangelical Brethren Church.

He married Margaretha Nikkel on December 1, 1925 to which union God gave four children. As refugees the Penners emigrated to Canada in 1929, residing first in Pincher Creek, and since 1931 in Coaldale.

Suffering from failing health, he retired from farming in 1964. He passed away on January 30.

He was predeceased by his wife in 1956, his eldest son at the age of two; his parents and three sisters and tnree brothers.

Funeral services were conducted in the Mennonite Brethren Church in Coaldale on February 3. Rev. D. J. Pankratz read Job 19:25-27 for the invocation. Rev. Alex Neumann, Lethbridge, spoke on the "Reality of Death" according 1:0 John 14:19. "People who pretend death does not exist or that it ends all," he said, "are really living by false values. For the Christian, death is merely a transition, a falling asleep and is, accordmg to Ps. 116:15, precious in the sight of the Lord." "After the former things have passed away...what then?" was the theme of a message by Rev. D: J. Pankratz. He underscored that heaven and earth, sorrow and pain, tears and death belonged to the former things that would pass away after which we would enjoy the citizenship of the new Heaven and Earth.

Left to mourn brother Penner's passing and revere his exemplary life, are two daughters, a son and daughter-in-law-to-be, a sister, friends and relatives.