Edna Friesen
Obituary
Edna Agatha Friesen, age 79 years, of Steinbach, MB., went to be with her Lord and Saviour, on Friday morning, March 20, 2026, at Bethesda Regional Health Centre, Steinbach, MB., with her son by her side.
Left to cherish her memory are her loving son Darryl and her grandchildren Brooklyn and Race; sisters Evelyn, Susie (Dave) Hiebert, Dionna Hill, Elma Elkiw, Betty (Leo) Dumont, Barb (Kevin) Wilgosh, Joanne Friesen, Linda Dyck; brothers Abe (Tina) Dyck, Peter (Julie) Dyck; sister-in-law Linda Dyck, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
Edna was predeceased by her loving husband Peter Friesen (2015), her parents Abram and Susie Dyck, brother Brian Dyck, in-laws Abram and Margaretha Friesen and second mother-in-law Aganetha Friesen, brother-in-law Brian Dudar, Pierre Bremaud, Jake Toews, Henry S. Wiebe, Isaac Dyck, Martin Friesen, nephew Ivan, nieces Judy, Shirley and Michelle.
Darryl’s Tribute ~
My mom was the second oldest of 12 children and being one of the oldest she helped take care of her siblings growing up. By the time she had met my dad having children was not on her mind but my dad convinced her to have at least one (thank you!).
She was a little shy so finding my dad was perfect for her because he was definitely not shy and helped bring her loving, caring spirit out. My parents got married in 1969, and two years later I was born.
The things I remember about my mom are that she was an extremely hard worker. She would work a full day at her job and still come home to bake, cook, and garden and if she knew that the neighbours were ill and not able to cut the grass, she would do theirs after she was done with ours. Oh yeah, there was also cleaning! Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, oh how she loved to clean. So much so that she got a job cleaning as her retirement job. You would never leave the table or seat if you still had some food or a little drink left because by the time you would come back it would have been washed, dried and placed back into the cupboard before you returned.
I was around four or five when a pastor from a local church came by and invited my parents to church. A little while later they became believers and a short time after that I was told she threw my dad’s full case of beer bottles in the garbage. “That’s enough of that” she said. I also remember after an evening service at church where there had been a movie shown I got scared. I still remember her coming into my room and praying with me while she comforted me and asked Jesus to come into my life. She would read Bible stories to me from a series of books she bought. She also taught me how to pray a bedtime prayer and prayed with me every night until I had memorized it. Thinking back, she was a huge influence in my life and in my belief of God.
Mom seemed to have so many friends, she would have been talking to someone for five minutes and when asked who that was, she would say “Oh, that’s my friend”.
She would cook as though 100 people were coming over, “I just want to make sure there’s enough” she would say.
She took a short haircutting course and before you knew it everyone was coming over for a haircut. Even though mom could not open her hand very far because of an accident she had she still did it all.
Everyone said my mom’s buns were the best, soft and fluffy on the inside and just the right amount of crisp on the outside. When asked how she does it she said “just onyefa” in low German which means “I don’t know, I just do it”.
My mom loved music, so many times we went to different churches to hear special guests.
My mom loved her two grandchildren; she would spend as much time as she could with them going to their soccer and baseball games.
Later on, my mom took care of my dad while he was sick. She was a very unselfish woman, always giving if someone needed something or asked for something. After my dad passed, I noticed her mind would be forgetting things. During this period, it was very hard for her because she thought she could still do all the things she used to and because of that she would act or say things she would not have ordinarily done or said. So, I ask if you could forgive her for those things during that period of time she was not herself and remember her for who she was.
As the years went by and she needed more care, I thought of what my dad had said to me before he passed. “Take care of your mom,” I truly did not know what that meant at the time but now I do. Thanks mom for everything!
Special thanks to all the nurses in the ER and the new medicine unit. You were amazing!
The public graveside service for Edna will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at 2:30 p.m., at Heritage Cemetery, 395 Loewen Blvd., Steinbach, MB.
