Margaret Penner

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MARGARET DELORES PENNER
November 17, 1952 - May 20, 2017

Our beloved sister, aunt and great-aunt, Margaret Delores Penner, was born Nov. 17, 1952 in Steinbach, MB to Daniel and Dorothy Toews Penner. She peacefully passed away at the Heritage Life Personal Care Home, Niverville, MB on Saturday, May 20, 2017 after a courageous battle with vascular dementia, which took her from us long before her death. She reached the age of 64 years.

Margaret was the second child in a family of nine. When she was one, her parents moved from Greenland to the Elma area. Here she attended Stoney Hill School for eight years and Whitemouth High School for another three. She grew up on the family farm, caring for and playing with her brothers and sisters and her many cousins. She was converted at the age of 11 and was baptized into the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite by Minister Edward Jantz on Nov. 22, 1964. She remained faithful to these vows until the end. She loved the Lord and the Church, admonishing and encouraging us to faithfulness. Church attendance was important to her.

Margaret enjoyed the time she spent teaching school in the mission in Mexico, as well as at Riverside School. She spent a year working in the Glenwood Children’s Home in Winnipeg. It was her dream to be a nurse and she completed her LPN training in 1976. Thus began a long and fulfilling career. She enjoyed over 25 years of nursing at Bethesda Hospital in Steinbach. During this time she cared for many people and made many friends. We remember her working many evening shifts on the rehab ward. She enjoyed her work but often traded shifts to attend family and church functions.

In 1990, her mother passed away unexpectedly at the age of 65. Margaret deeply grieved this loss.

In 1991, she realized another dream when she built her own house in a clearing in the poplar woods near her childhood home. How she loved gardening and growing flowers in her own little spot, especially when her nieces and nephews came to help! And how she loved to have her family and friends come to visit!

Margaret was a creative person. She spent much time writing, drawing, and braiding rugs. She left us with many hand-woven memories. We all loved our “Auntie Marge” and she loved her nieces and nephews as her own children.

In the last 10 years, Margaret suffered with illness due to a heart condition. She went through several heart surgeries and suffered several strokes. She was very sad that she could not live in her own home for the past year and a half. We believe God has taken her to His beautiful home above and we all want to meet her there.

She will be missed by her stepmother, Caroline Penner, Steinbach, MB; her sisters, Donalda and Charles Goossen, Hyas, SK, Ruth and Gilbert Janzen, Kleefeld, MB, Sharon and Ron Giesbrecht, St Marys, ON, Lois and Charles Penner, Mountain Grove, Missouri, and Tamara Toews, Steinbach, MB; her brother-in-law, Ken Giesbrecht, Elma, MB; her brothers, Rene and Janice, Berwick, NS, Dennis and Monica, Elma, MB, and Timothy Penner, Steinbach, MB; 36 nieces and nephews; and many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her father and mother and her sister Johanna.

We wish to thank the workers at the Heritage Life Personal Care Home in Niverville, especially Shelley and Amanda, for the kindness and care shown to our sister Margaret.

The viewing was held on Tuesday, May 23 at 7 p.m., with a devotional at 7:30 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB. Viewing was also held at the church prior to the funeral service.

Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, May 24 at 10:30 a.m. at Whitemouth Mennonite Church, Whitemouth, MB. Interment followed at the church cemetery.

Arrangements by Birchwood Funeral Chapel 1-204-346-1030 or 1-888-454-1030.

As published in The Carillon on May 23, 2017