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MARY HEESE KLASSEN
Born: Jan 10, 1933
Date of Passing: Dec 21, 2020
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MARY HEESE KLASSEN
January 10, 1933 – December 21, 2020
Mom was born during a snowstorm in a log cabin without running water or electricity near Grunthal, Manitoba. She arrived before Opa could return by horse and cutter with the midwife, and that inclination to just get things done characterized her whole life. Mom was tireless and selfless, whether it was running a farm, raising four boys, maintaining a high school, or organizing family gatherings.
Mom married our father, Abe, on June 24, 1956, after a courtship that involved going on dates to shoot gophers. After 14 years raising chickens, turkeys and pigs on a small farm near Grunthal, Mom and Dad moved their young family to Fort Saskatchewan in 1971, where she lived for all but two years of the remainder of her life. She was passionate about gardening, and tended to her large flower and vegetable garden right up to the end. She baked her own bread her entire life, and she was determined to pass on the secrets of Mennonite baking and cooking to her children and grandchildren.
Her favourite place in the world was the cottage on Red Deer Lake, where she loved nothing more than hosting four generations of family. She devoted her retirement to travelling, gardening, bird-watching, researching family history, and doting on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whom she loved dearly.
Mom was predeceased by her husband Abraham Klassen, mother Elizabeth (nee Janzen), father Dmitri Heese, stepmother Agatha (nee Regehr), and brother William Heese. She is survived by her brother Friedrich (Margaret), sons, Karl (Mary), Alan, Michael (Marion), and Mark (Margie), grandchildren, Josh (Erin), Brandon (Nancy), Aleksander, Lily, Grace, and Saige, and great-grandchildren, Pryor, Rader, Landen, and Adalynn.
A memorial service will not be held.
Memorial donations in Mary's honour can be made directly to the Mennonite Central Committee.
As published in The Carillon on Jan 07, 2021