Obituary of Sara Friesen

On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at the age of 92, Sara passed away at the Red River Valley Lodge in Morris, MB. She was formerly of Winnipeg, Lowe Farm, Steinbach and Rosenort. She is predeceased by her parents, Gerhard and Sara Friesen, her husband of 22 years, Peter Friesen (2015), brothers George, Wiegand, Henry and Vern. Sara is survived by her sister, Annelie Enns, sisters-in-law Louise, Elvira, Helen and Phyllis Friesen as well as many nieces and nephews. Sara is also survived by children – Grace (Peter) Petkau; Betti (Eldon) Pullman, their children Caleb (Kayla), Jesse; Bernie (Cheryl), their daughter Jayelle (Nik) Friesen-Enns; Ronald (Lynn), their children Nick (Brittany), Adam (Jacy), Jill (Ken) Wiebe; Gwen (Pat) Wasyliw, their children Noah (Laine), Carter, as well as five Great Grandchildren. She is predeceased by one Grandson, Aaron Friesen (2019) Sara’s parents, Gerhard and Sara Friesen, immigrated to Canada from Russia in 1924. They came to stay with the Isaac Hoeppners near Morden, MB for several days, until they found work and lodging elsewhere. Several immigrant families, including the Friesens, decided to purchase land near Crystal City. This took place, but then the depression years came and these families were unable to make the payments. They lost the land, so the group separated. Sara was born on March 8, 1931 at Crystal City, the third of five children. A few years later, the Friesen family moved. They rented a farm close to Clearwater in the Cypress School District. It was there that Sara received her schooling – Grades 1 to 8. She helped on the farm and in the big garden. Her Mother liked gardening. The Friesens were concerned about their children’s spiritual welfare and the decision was made to move back to the Morden area in 1945. The family lived on a farm near Mountain City School, just south of the town of Morden and attended the Bergthaler Church. It was in the teen years when Sara accepted the Lord Jesus as her Saviour. Romans 10:9-10 and John 6:37 were some of the verses that were special to her. She was baptized by Bishop Schultz of Altona. Here, she joined the choir and also taught Sunday School. Sara then left home to attend Elim Bible School in Altona for two years before deciding to go into nursing. The L.P.N. course required Grade 10, so in 1957, Sara went back to school to take her Grade 10 at the Winkler Collegiate. After that, Sara began L.P.N. training in 1958. She took the theory for the program in Winnipeg and did the practical requirement in the Altona Hospital. Her Graduation took place on May 22, 1959 In Winnipeg. As an L.P.N., Sara worked at several hospitals – Morden, Steinbach and Grace Hospital in Winnipeg, and then for Doctors in their offices: Dr. John Dyck in the Woodlawn Clinic in Steinbach, and Drs. Bernhard and George Froese at the Northdale Medical Centre in Winnipeg where Dr. Martens joined them later. Sara also did Home Care for several years. Sara worked, saved and on her vacation time, travelled. One of her first trips was with her sister Annelie and other friends to Amsterdam, Holland. Some of Sara’s other trips took her to Jamaica, Alaska, Hawaii, the Scandinavian countries, the Maritimes and some smaller tours by bus and car. Sara enjoyed travelling with friends and making new friends on her travels. Faith and family were always an important part of Sara’s life. She was a cheerful presence at family gatherings with her ready smile and easy-going laugh. Sara was the fun, single Aunt to a fleet of Friesen nieces and nephews. Then, at the age of 61, she met a widower from Lowe Farm and a new chapter in her life began. Sara married our Dad, Peter Friesen on February 6, 1993 in the Sargent Avenue Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. Her family name was Friesen and our family name is Friesen, so she didn’t have to change her name! It was a great day for our family, as our Dad now had a partner and companion again, after our Mom’s passing. They flew to Hawaii for their honeymoon! Sara was a well seasoned traveler, and this time her travelling companion was Peter! We recognized that this was a huge life change for Sara. From being a free and single girl in the city with lots of single girlfriends, she now moved to the fairly large sized family farmyard near Lowe Farm in Southern Manitoba and became an instant Mother and Grandmother. Eventually Great Grandchildren were added to the family. She met new people in a new church. She planted and took care of the huge gardens on the yard. She baked and did some canning and hosted our family gatherings on the farm. In the year after she herself was a Bride, she became Mother of the Bride twice, when daughter Grace married Peter in June 1994 and daughter Gwen married Pat in September 1994. In August 2004, Dad and Sara moved to Steinbach. We helped them move into their brand new side by side Condo. They settled into their new home and it became our new go-to home as well. They attended the Steinbach MB Church during this time. In March 2011, our family helped Sara to celebrate her 80th birthday, with a gathering of Sara’s Brothers and Sisters as well as Dad’s Brothers and Sisters in the church which they attended. In May of 2014, Dad and Sara moved to the Rosewood Apartments in Rosenort, Manitoba. Our Dad passed away on September 16, 2015 and Sara was left to carry on, by herself again. Eventually, she moved to the assisted living area of this apartment complex. In December of 2020, Sara fell and broke her hip. She was taken to the Boundary Trails Hospital, where she had surgery. She was transferred to the Morris Hospital and was a patient there for 6 months before she was admitted to the Red River Valley Lodge as a resident in this care home. This is where she passed away peacefully on December 16, 2023 at the age of 92, completing her marathon and entering the dwellings of glory we cannot fathom. We are grateful to Sara for taking on the role of being a wife to our Dad, Mother to us and Grandmother to the Grandchildren. We would like to thank Cheryl, Bernie’s wife, for her care of Sara in the last number of years of Sara’s life. We would also like to thank the staff at the Red River Valley Lodge for their care of Sara in the time that she lived in the facility, and in her final days.