Martin G. Friesen

  • Martin G. Friesen
  • Date of Passing: April 7, 2020
  • Born in: 1924

Obituary

Martin G Friesen, age 96, passed away peacefully of natural causes at the Grunthal Menno Home on April 7th, 2020.

Leaving behind to cherish his memory are his children and their families, Len (Elaine) Friesen of Piney, Brenda Friesen of Winnipeg, John (Marlene) Friesen of East Braintree, Paul (Eleanor) Friesen of Steinbach, Lois (Henry) Fehr of Steinbach, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

He was predeceased by his wife Agatha in 1999.

Martin and Agatha were married in Abbotsford, BC on November 12,1949. Early in their marriage, work took them into the interior of BC where Mom taught school and Dad found jobs in the local sawmills. He often said that at first he thought pulling those green 16-foot 2×12’s off a speeding line would be the end of him. But his farm boy roots proved their mettle, he got the rhythm and it became no harder than stooking grain under a hot Manitoba sun.

In the mid 50’s they moved to Steinbach. Mom stayed at home to raise their ever-growing brood, dad carpentered by day and spent every spare working moment raising cows for beef and milk. Carpentry was his living, but farming was his passion. No matter how late we came home from an event, he would head straight for the barn to check on his other family. His first love however was family and faith. No matter how much work was piled up, Sunday’s were set aside for church and afternoon visits with friends and relatives. Our bedtimes started with him reading a story from Hurlburt’s Bible for Children.

Post war life was challenging for lower middle-class families, struggling to make ends meet raising large families on limited incomes. Mom and Dad bore it well without complaint and we were glad to see things get easier for them in the 70’s once we started leaving home and money was easier come by. They were able to acquire a bigger acreage giving more room for his beloved cows and as a bonus bush enough to provide firewood and saskatoons, both of which he enjoyed harvesting.

In spite of the busy lives our parents led they always had time to volunteer their services. Early years were devoted mainly to the church needs such as ushering and leading the Boy’s Brigade club. As his workload eased Dad got more involved in the broader community, giving time to the thrift store, singing in the Mitchell senior choir and helping with the food bank. He was able to keep his driver’s well into his eighties, so he spent a lot of time driving “old guys” as he called them (though they were the same age as he was) to appointments and on long drives just to see the countryside.

Though he lost his mobility the last three years of his life he retained his sense of humour and clarity of mind to the point of remembering who our second cousins were better than we did. He was blessed to have the Menno Home in Grunthal as “home” for his final years of life and had nothing but good to say about his caregivers. A very special thanks to the care home staff for going beyond the duties of the job in taking personal interest in the residents. Dad felt very much loved there.

Being of modest means, he has not left us a large estate. His legacy to us exceeds any amount of possessions he could have left behind. He showed us what it meant to live a selfless life of integrity as portrayed by the prophet Micah. “He has shown thee oh man what is good and what does the Lord require of thee, but to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. “Micah 6:8”.

A private family funeral will be held April 9, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB with livestream available for those who wish to join at the time of the service. The service will be recorded and given to the family for those who prefer to view it at a later date.

If friends so desire, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Martin to the Menno Home, Box 280; Grunthal, MB R0A 0R0 four seasons sunroom construction.