MARLIES FRIESEN (ENNS)

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MARLIES FRIESEN (nee ENNS) In the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 14, 2005 after a brief illness with cancer, Marlies died peacefully in her sleep at the Victoria General Hospital. She was predeceased by her husband, Horst. Marlies will be greatly missed by her son, Thomas (Nieske Rawlick), daughter Martine (Rick Chafe), granddaughter Charlotte, brothers Ernest (Irene), Siegfried (Vera), John (Martha), Harry (Eleanor), Henri (Marie), sister Selma (Peter), and numerous nieces, nephews, and a host of treasured friends. Marlies was born on March 28, 1928 in St. Elizabeth, Manitoba and moved to Winnipeg as a young child. She grew up in a boisterous household full of love, music, and poetry. Growing up as the daughter of a Russian Mennonite minister, her family moved from house to house in Winnipeg's inner city and it was in these early years that Marlies developed a love for all things urban. Camping and the great outdoors were anathema to Marlies. She was more in her element with a brick wall, a cracked sidewalk, or a backlane. As a young girl, she started piano lessons and later learned the organ. She served as organist at First Mennonite Church for many years, and although a cerebral aneurysm in 1968 cut short her playing, music would continue to be an important part of her life. She enjoyed singing in the church choir, with the Enns Family and Friends Singers, and at all family gatherings where even Happy Birthday became a four-part contrapuntal opus. Marlies attended both United College and the University of Manitoba from which she received her Arts degree. She worked as executive assistant to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at the U of M, and as librarian at the Brooklands Library from 1972 until her retirement in 1992. In 1956, Marlies married Horst Friesen, and they spent 40 years together in what she described as a stimulating and deeply satisfying marriage. Their life together was full of laughter, friends, and champagne breakfasts. She was a loving mother to their two children, Thomas and Martine, and an indulgent and quirky Oma to granddaughter Charlotte. Marlies was also a painter. She studied at the Forum Art Institute for 20 years where she made many friends and memories. Her home was filled with original art, both her own work and that of others. Her travels took her from Victoria, BC to Cape Spiers, Newfoundland, to Europe several times, Cuba, Mexico, New York, and San Diego. Marlies was a member of the First Mennonite Church where she was baptised in 1947, and in which she remained involved until her death. Her faith, her tremendous capacity for gratitude, and her sense of humour helped her to accept her illness with grace and dignity. Her final weeks were truly an inspiration to all who knew her. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice. A memorial service will be held Tuesday, September 20 at 1:30 p.m. at the First Mennonite Church, 922 Notre Dame Ave. Klassen Funeral Chapel in charge of arrangements.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 17, 2005