Toews, Irene (1922-1926)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1926 Dec 22 p. 1

Birth date: 1922

text of obituary:

REV. TOEW’S [sic TOEWS’] FAMILY SUFFERS A TRAGEDY

A very sad accident occurred near Rosthern, Sask., the early part of last week, wen the home of Rev. David Toews caught fire at 4:30 in the morning. The Rev. Toews family had six children, two of the girls were sleeping downstairs, while the remainder of the family slept upstairs, as did also two visitors, Rev. Franz Enns and a student, Herman Riesen.

When the fire was discovered by those upstairs the stairway was in flames and escape in that direction was impossible, so Mr. Riesen broke the window panes with his hands, cutting them badly by dong this. Rev. Toews jumped to the ground while Mr. Riesen picked the children up one by one and dropped them to the ground where their father caught them. The last one was little four year old Irene, whose clothing had already caught fire. it was stated that much of the flesh from her legs was burned off and she died soon after at the hospital.

Mr. Riesen, who tried so heroically to save them all was very badly burned himself in trying to rescue Irene. He and Rev. Enns are both lying in the hospital at Saskatoon. the situation was made doubly bad by the fact that there was more than six inches of snow on the ground and the thermometer stood at 25 below zero, and with no other clothing but their night gowns, the stricken family had to make their way thru the deep snow to a neighbor’s home and as a result they were all badly frozen.

The home and everything in it burned to the ground, it is reported that not a thing was saved. No insurance was carried on the home and its belongings. Rev. Toews is well known here. He is president of the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization and in that capacity has traveled around in its interests.