Sara Reimer (nee Janzen)
Obituary
Sara Reimer (nee Janzen), age 91 years, of Steinbach, MB, slipped away peacefully during her afternoon nap at Bethesda Hospital on Monday, April 29, 2019. The oldest child of Johann and Getruda Janzen, Sara was born in Giroux, MB, on November 9, 1927.
She was predeceased by her husband Aaron of 55 years, and their daughter Lorena, three sisters and two brothers. The illness and death of Lorena in 1999 was a difficult season for Sara, for it just didn’t seem right to have the child die before the parent. This was nature gone bad, and she felt it deeply. She missed her oldest daughter.
Sara is survived by son-in-law David Reimer (Karen), Arlene (Gary Monkman), Ken (Geralyn), Bryan (Karen), Sharilyn (Reade Johnson), 15 grandchildren, spouses, and 10 great-children and three sisters, two sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law.
As the oldest of what became a family with nine children, Sara became a responsible, enthusiastic hard worker, in the garden, in the kitchen, and in the house generally. She helped her mother with cleaning. At a young age she was cleaning up the pantry where her mother had two jars of flower seeds, each only half full. She took to the task of cleaning and saving space by combining the two seeds into one container. While that hadn’t been the plan, it turned out they got lots of compliments on the beautiful blend of flowers that year. Sara’s love for flowers was evident at a young age. She was still young when she was found picking flowers from her mother’s beloved flower garden. Sara’s explanation was that she was just helping with the pruning.
When she had her own garden, she worked hard at getting good produce. She loved her greenhouse and spent many happy hours starting tomatoes and all kinds of other plants, but always tomatoes. And flowers. Her love of flowers never waned. Seeding and planting, she had rows and rows and patches and patches of flowers, her most flamboyant arrangement was her semi-circle area some fifteen feet deep and all of thirty-five feet across. No wonder that some years the brides getting married and the church decorators came to Sara for flowers for their displays. Sara loved the bright colours. And what’s better than a row of zinnias and marigolds along the otherwise boring potato plants?
And her orchard! In its peak Sara could happily tell you all about the thirty different apple and crab apple trees, knowing exactly which ones were sweet, which were tart, which were ornamental and for display only, and – which were good for the birds. And speaking of birds, some winters she took to feeding them. She loved birds. Her binoculars didn’t always make it back to their place on the fridge before they were again needed to help identify another variety of warbler, sparrow, you-name-it, she had spotted from her dining room window.
Sara loved all these gravity-defying creatures – little pieces of inspiration and imaginative delight. Wouldn’t it be great if we could fly? Yet, being a farmer’s wife, with a maturing family, this often-romantic woman had much reason to be practical – life couldn’t be only flowers and birds!
No. There was also lots of cooking and baking for the family, which she enjoyed, and her food was tasty. Years of paging through the Country Guide, Family Herald, and other magazines, years of clipping recipes and collecting them in a binder, always inquisitive about herbs and using them in new combinations, she perfected many recipes. She also used the old standbys: lots of butter and lots of cream. How could you go wrong with these taste enhancers? And the family just ate it up – they loved her cooking. Always practical, and wonderfully meshing work and hobby.
Another area of interest for Sara in which she was able to mesh work with hobby was sewing. Having worked in the sewing factory in St. Pierre in her late teens, she already had a foundation in sewing. She augmented that interest with some sewing courses in Steinbach and Winnipeg, learning to tailor fine suits, and getting those collars to sit just right. Always precision. She took great delight in sewing wedding dresses for her three daughters and some of her sisters.
Sara grew up with music in the home and loved to sing. She loved the harmonies of the Parschauer Sisters, the White Sisters, and as a teenager the music made by the Janzen sisters when they got together with their friends, the Barkman sisters. Their youthful voices harmonized as they sang their gospel favorites, songs in which spiritual sentiment matched a lively beat with delightful harmonies.
Sara enjoyed quite an array of music, along with the gospel songs, she also listened to classical music. A Christmas tradition for many years was to tune the radio to CFAM on Christmas Day and as a family listen to Handel’s Messiah. The whole thing. Gift opening came after that. This love of classical music never kept her from other music – she enjoyed the rhythm and down-to-earth quality of country songs. We heard about “Hang the Key on the Bunkhouse Door” and other songs she had enjoyed in her youth.
Was it Sara’s romantic intuition that led her to know that Aaron was the man for her? She had seen him driving the tractor through the village, but he was standing as he drove past Sara’s house. She liked that young man. One Sunday she was visiting one of Aaron’s sisters. This family often sang a song or two before meals, which they did this day as well. Apparently, when Sara heard Aaron’s bass voice, she knew he was the man for her. Although conversation wasn’t easy at the table with all those other people around, and having some civility and a measure of shyness, but the two were apparently very aware of each other.
When he did come to call on her, he was wearing a suit and a red tie. Sara always loved bright colours, so the tie may have helped to confirm the relationship. They were married on October 21, 1951. In many ways Sara and Aaron’s energies matched. During the busy farm years, Sara’s eyes twinkled when she saw her man always on the go. The wheels of the pickup truck spinning as he left on another quick farm errand – yup, that was her man!
After her breast cancer surgery in 1986 she realized that she wouldn’t be able to work as hard as she had earlier. She was emotionally down about this change in her life – what would she now do? Her older daughters got her going on crossword puzzles and quilting, both becoming interests that grew with the years. These years also brought more travel, something she and Aaron loved to do. Apart from their annual winter trips to Hawaii, they also visited Paraguay, South Africa, and Alaska, as well as the frequent trips to Abbotsford and Victoria B.C. to visit family.
The children being out of the house, Sara now had more time for her hobbies. Cooking and gardening had slowed down somewhat, but the quality continued. She avidly read books, sometimes re-reading them to re-live the experience.
Sara had a couple of stays in the hospital. In one of those she overheard one of the medical staff introducing her to another staff member with, “Mrs. Reimer is a feisty woman.” She quite enjoyed this description, and we believe it was apt. Although there was the sometimes-quiet exterior, she was a confident woman with her opinions in tact. Her pursed lips indicated she might be quiet, but that didn’t mean she was passive. What she knew, she knew.
In matters of faith and religion, she liked simple. The Sunday morning sermons she enjoyed most were what she called “the nice gospel messages.” It was generally understood that debates and arguments about theological and philosophical stuff were not her interest. No high-falutin’ vocabulary and outlook. Give her a nice three-point sermon and you’re on track.
In many ways, Sara’s faith was very practical, and one might be hard-pressed to separate her faith from her daily life. Some of the principles she lived by were: What you do, do properly; do it well. Be responsible in small things, and the big things will take care of themselves. She enjoyed her home and worked at making it agreeable for her children as well. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren had a special place in her heart.
Sara enjoyed close community and small groups, as was evident also from her tales of the Twin Creek sewing circle days. For several years, she and Aaron served on the Golden Age Committee in Blumenort. She enjoyed her Sunday School class discussions. Yet her faith was something that happened at home. Along with all the other family time, the spring and fall family pancake breakfasts were another expression of all things good.
In March of this year, she had more energy than she had had for years. In fact, she once again tried new recipes. But sadly, on April 5 she had a fall and spent the last three and a half weeks in the hospital. She weakened and prayed for the end to come.
At some point in the last few weeks which she spent in the hospital, she commented, “Jesus doesn’t love me.” She longed to die, to go home, to be with the Lord. She seemed to take it personally that she had not yet been released from the hospital bed and the body in it. Family reminded her that it in no way diminished the Lord’s love for her – her time would come. It has come at last. She died peacefully in her sleep. May she rest in peace.
The funeral service will be held Sunday, May 5, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, with viewing prior to the service. After a reception, interment will take place at the Blumenort EMC cemetery.
