Elma Wiebe

Obituary

Our beloved mother, Elma Wiebe, was called home to be with the Lord, following an extended journey with illness. She was rooted in faith and devoted to Christ and loved her family.

Elma was born on October 17, 1934 to Peter and Helena Heinrichs, joining nine sisters living on a farm near Horndean, Manitoba.

Elma always loved learning and attending school. She attended the local school until grade 8, when she reached the highest grade available nearby. After a few years, due to her desire to continue with school, her father arranged for her to be able to attend Elim Bible School, which she attended for 4 years. Following this she managed to complete her high school courses through a combination of tutoring, night school and attending Steinbach Bible Institute. Once she had her degree, she continued her education with Teacher’s College. She continued to pursue her educational interests until a few months ago, learning social media with Facebook and texting over the years, to communicate with her family as well as taking online courses through the Xplore program at CMU.

It was during her varied education ventures that she met and fell in love with the love of her life, John Wiebe. They met at Bethel Mission Church and had the opportunity to become better acquainted when they both attended Steinbach Bible School and were assigned to wash dishes together. But sparks really began to fly the year after, during her time at Teacher’s College, where the mailman was kept busy delivering letters back and forth. They were married August 16, 1958 at Bethel Mennonite Church, and enjoyed a full almost 65 years of marriage. They began their married life teaching for one year in Crane River, Manitoba.

Their family began to grow on returning to Winnipeg for John to attend classes at CMBC, with the birth of Sheila. Debbie was born during their first year of pastoral ministry in Carrot River, Saskatchewan. It was on registration day in Elkhart, for studies at AMBS, that their third daughter Cindy was born.

Elma has always had a deep desire to serve God wherever she happened to be, whether she was helping with the house work and childcare at various sisters’ or neighbours’, teaching, or working at the mental institute in Brandon, or in a variety of other healthcare related positions. Having felt the calling with John to join the mission field, they ended up with a year of Spanish language studies in Costa Rica, before heading to Colombia to serve for 9 years. While John worked as pastor and with books, Elma found ways to connect with the community. This connection included visiting church members, being involved in Bible studies and teaching Sunday School, and even baking a wedding cake for the town mayor. It was a difficult life, of adjusting to a new culture, dealing with large creatures, like tarantulas, cockroaches and mice, (many a wooden spoon and broom may have been broken in the process). Often she was on her own, caring for her three girls while John was on the road. Thinking back on these experiences reinforces the strength of character, faith, courage and determination that Elma portrayed.

On returning to Canada, Elma began working at CMBC as an administrative assistant, and found a place where she found purpose and a place where she felt she belonged. It became a highlight of her life to be working in this environment of learning, where she was able to tackle her responsibilities with passion and a sense of accomplishment.

Once she retired from CMBC, while she was dealing with some medical issues, she was able to spend time working at Fellowship Bookcentre with John. She enjoyed being able to work collaboratively with him in a shared passion.

Prayer was a constant for Elma. She had a long list of people she brought forward in prayer. Daily she prayed for her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren as well as other family, friends and the greater world issues. She cared about those around her – if someone needed support, she was there – reading for those who couldn’t, visiting with those who were lonely. Even when she was not able to leave her apartment on her own, she made a point of calling people who might also be lonely or invited them over for a visit. While it took some getting used to hosting without being able to provide coffee and baking when she was no longer able, she decided the visits were more important than the hosting impression.

Family Tree

Sheila and Phil Kroeker

• Evan and Kacey (Owen, Ellie)
• Kathryn

Debbie and Mark Penner

• Vanessa and Ben (Alexandria, Anne, Jasmine, Casper)
• Melissa and Graeme (Saoirse, Kingsley)
• Chrisalyn and Reid
• Brad and Tawnee (Marshall)

Cindy and Conrad Peters

• Dylan

Predeceased by 8 sisters and one brother:

Helen (Jake), Mary (Abe), Tina (Frank), Susan (Henry), Margaret (Eddie), Anna (Norman), Agatha (Ervin), Irvin (Liz), Rose (John)

Survived by 3 sisters: Nettie (George), Jessie (Frank), Lil (Neil)

The memorial service for Elma will take place on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Bethel Mennonite Church, 465 Stafford Street, Winnipeg, MB.