Cornelius Friesen

Obituary

It is with sadness that we announce that on November 1st, 2018, at the age of 87, our dad Cornie passed away. Although he had been struggling with cancer, he passed peacefully at the Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach with his family at his side.

He is survived by: his wife Grace; his children: Robert (Carol), Ronald (Elaine), Sandra (Stan), Rosalie (Larry), Vernon (Val), Curtis (Krista) and his stepson Wesley (Eva), as well as 26 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren; his siblings Mary, Gertie and Dick (Betty).

Cornie was predeceased by his parents Cornelius and Helene Friesen, his brothers John and Isaac, his sisters Henrietta, Lena and Peggy, daughter-in-law Barb, and his wife Hilda.

Dad spent most of his childhood years in the Grunthal area. He married Hilda in 1954. The early years were spent living and working in Winnipeg and they had 4 of their 6 children while living there. Dad’s dream to own his own farm came true in 1961. For the first few years of farming Dad commuted to Winnipeg for his job at Swifts. His last 2 sons were born while living on the farm. Dad loved farming, especially beef farming. He bought into the poultry industry in 1966 and it continued to be his primary farm focus until his youngest son Curt took over the family farm in 1998.

Our Mom, Hilda passed away in 1995 after 41 years of marriage. Dad married Grace Kehler in 1997 and they were married for 21 years. With this marriage, Dad’s family expanded once more to include Grace’s son Wesley (Eva), their children and Grace’s siblings along with their spouses and children.

Dad held various positions in the following: Beef Commission for 5 years, represented Manitoba on the National Allocation and Pricing Agreement, Manitoba Chicken Board for 7 years, Hanover School Division trustee for 7 years, and Keystone Agricultural Producers board for 2 years. Dad was proud of his work accomplishments and progress made on the various boards to improve the life of his community and our province.

After Dad retired from farming, he and Grace lived in the country for a few years until moving to Grunthal. During those early years of their marriage they were able to travel and enjoyed camping and socializing with the Peters family. After Grace’s Alzheimer’s became too difficult at home he remained dedicated and faithful to taking care of Grace at the Menno Home the best he could with visiting and feeding her as often as possible. He rarely missed a day of being with her and sitting by her side.

Dad led a devoted Christian life and was a model of high integrity, honesty, sensitivity, kindness, generosity, empathy and modesty. He loved God and his life was centered around the church and living his life for God. We the children will always be grateful for the example he set for us. We know he loved us and how proud he was of all of us.

The evening service with devotional will be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB. The memorial service will be held on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at the Grunthal Bergthaler Mennonite Church, Grunthal, MB. A private family burial will take place at Grunthal Cemetery, Grunthal, MB.

If friends so desire, in lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Cornelius may be made to Southern Health-Santé Sud (In memo line: CancerCare) Box 470, La Broquerie, MB R0A 0W0.