Finish lines

ELVIRA (HARDER) DYCK

Elvira’s was one of the first Mennonite families to farm in Yarrow’s reclaimed lakebed. Before she entered Kindergarten, the doctor discovered she had a weak heart (probably from rheumatic fever) and discouraged her parents from exposing her to the exertion of school; she proved everyone wrong. With persistence and God’s help, she overcame, later enduring heart attacks and open-heart surgery, to live to 93. At evangelistic services in Yarrow MB Church, Elvira received Jesus at 8 and was baptized at 12. At the end of high school, Elvira met John from Manitoba. They were married Sept. 24, 1950. Elvira worked as a seamstress and supported John by keeping house, helping shingle the roof, and encouraging his formal education, which led them into full-time church ministry, mainly with youth. Elvira loved leading women’s Bible studies at Union Gospel Mission, women’s ministry at Culloden Church, and a ladies’ choir at Clearbrook Church. She was well-known for hospitality: one year she fed 1,000 visitors! When all four children, Marilyn, Elizabeth, Edward, and Robert, learned to play piano, Elvira refreshed her own musical skills. She sewed all their clothes and took them berry picking, gardened and canned, cared for her aging mother and aunts, welcomed a refugee from Vietnam,

LILLIAN L. DYCK

Lillian died peacefully at Freeport Hospital on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, to be with her Lord and Saviour. A loving mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother, and sister, Lillian was predeceased by her beloved husband of 68 years Peter Dyck in 2019, her son at birth, son-in-law Albert Friesen, her parents Nicholas and Louise Fehderau, her siblings Harold Fehderau and Elenore Neufeld-Fast, and brother-in-law Jake Willms. Lillian offered a wonderful example to her family of Christian service, both in the church and in her community. Kitchener MB Church (KMB) appreciated all the ways Lillian contributed musically –initially accompanying the church choir in 1947 and then serving on the piano and organ at church services, weddings, and funerals for more than 50 years. Lillian volunteered for many years at KMB’s Vacation Bible School and at Mennonite Central Committee’s Ten Thousand Villages in Kitchener. Throughout her life, Lillian cherished good friendships and nurtured them. Lillian’s quiet-and- cleaned doctors’ offices for grocery money, and hosted birthday parties and Christmas dinners. In retirement, John and Elvira travelled to Germany, Egypt, and Israel, across Canada and the U.S., and on Christian service trips to Lithuania and California. In addition to babysitting daily, every week Elvira welcomed the grandchildren for games and ice cream while their parents attended Bible studies. If the parents returned too early, the children pretended to sleep in a bid to stay later. There were also sleepovers at the cabin, visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus (who resembled Grandma), and Sunday dinners. Elvira’s last phase of ministry was a small sealed unit of dementia patients. She never hesitated to stroke someone’s face or hand and say, “I love you. We’ll always be friends, right?” Hers was a life of selfless love that did not bring lasting fame or fortune, but by those she touched, she will never be forgotten.

Birth: September 27, 1929

Birthplace: Yarrow, B.C.

Death: December 23, 2022

Parents: Heinrich & Erna Harder

Married: John Dyck, September 24, 1950

Family: children Marilyn (Harry) Schroeder, Elizabeth (Dale) Parberry, Edward (Linda), Robert (Shannon); 10 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren steadfast faith in God shaped her own life and influenced the lives of those around her in so many wonderful ways. Her family experienced her daily prayers and is forever grateful for the way she cared for them her entire life, demonstrating her close walk with God as her Lord and Saviour. God has blessed her family over the past 91 years with this woman, Lillian L. Dyck. And now their Heavenly Father takes pleasure in having Lillian join him in her new eternal home.

Church: Clearbrook, Abbotsford, B.C.

Birth: February 18, 1931

Birthplace: Kitchener, Ont.

Death: December 15, 2022

Parents: Nicholas & Louise Fehderau

Married: Peter Dyck, September 16, 1950 [d. 2019]

Family: children Dianne Friesen, Randy (Ruth), Jamie VanDyck; grandchildren Dana (Joel) Crawford, Jared Friesen, Jeremy (Lisa) Dueck, Karalyn (Aaron) Smits; greatgrandchildren Cadence, Kirsten, Ethan, Tristan, Carter, Kinsley; sister Rita Willms; sister-in-law Nancy Fehderau, brother-in-law Neil Fast

Church: Kitchener (Ont.) MB.

Baptism: Aug. 4, 1946

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DOROTHY (BERGMANN) REMPEL

Dorothy’s parents emigrated from Ukraine to Dundurn, Sask., in 1924, and in 1937, welcomed Dorothy, the youngest of 4 (including Henry who died in infancy). Dorothy’s early years were carefree, despite the family’s financial struggles. In 1945, they bought a dairy farm in Chilliwack, B.C. Dorothy and her sisters Anita and Ruth did their share of milking. Saturday mornings were for German school, where her instructor Mr. Friesen led her to faith in Jesus. Dorothy grew in faith and life experiences, sometimes inching along; at others, by leaps and bounds; always, God’s grace was sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). Hebrews 13:21 was Dorothy’s baptismal challenge and ongoing desire. Dorothy and Dietrich married in June 1957, in Eden Mennonite Church, Chilliwack. They thanked God for many good years together as a family, which grew to include 4 children and 6 grandchildren. Their oldest child and only son Ken fell to his death at 21 in a climbing accident on Mount Seymour. Their son-in-law died in a farm accident, leaving their oldest daughter with 3 small children. These losses profoundly impacted Dorothy and Dietrich’s lives. The reality of Isaiah 40:31 was tested; as they waited, God supplied their needs. Psalm 46:1, inscribed on Ken’s grave marker, was their comfort in life and death. Dorothy found God gracious through 2 open-heart surgeries and Dietrich’s cancer operation. Forty years of pastoral ministry was both challenging and rewarding, the highlight being their work with Aussiedler in Berlin, Germany, from 1995 to 2000. Dorothy loved learning, praying, and sharing with Clearbrook MB Church. Gently and peacefully, Dorothy took her last breath on earth, Aug. 23, 2022, at 2:12 pm, after 42 days in Good Samaritan Deltaview in Jade Manor.

Birth: November 29, 1937

Death: August 23, 2022

Birthplace: Dundurn, Sask.

Parents: H. H. & Margaret Bergmann

Married: Dietrich Rempel, June 1957

Family: Dietrich, son Ken [d. 1980]; daughters Pearl (John Loewen [d.]), Jolene, Linda; 8 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren

Church: Clearbrook, Abbotsford, B.C.

Baptism: East Chilliwack (B.C.) MB, June 6, 1954

by Philli P A. Gunther