IRENE PETERS

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IRENE PETERS

April 27, 1922 – October 11, 2026

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Irene Peters (née Willms) on October 11, 2026, at the age of 104. She was born to Elise (Goossen) and Henry Willms in Halbstadt, South Russia on April 27, 1922 in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution during a time of civil unrest. She immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1924 as part of a large wave of German-speaking Mennonites who fled Russia in the 1920s. Her childhood was one of economic hardship but an abundance of love and cultural enrichment in the family home, steeped in German culture and listening to classical music and the opera.

As an adult, she fulfilled her lifelong dream and became a teacher, beginning her career at a two-room school in Bothwell, Manitoba, at a time when female teachers in rural Manitoba were still something of a rarity.. She then married the love of her life, John Peters, in 1945. She and John became acquainted when they both sang in the choir of the First Mennonite Church, her spiritual home for most of her life. Following the marriage, she continued to teach, supporting John while he completed his studies in medicine. John died much too young at age 38 in 1958, leaving her with three pre-school children. Never re-marrying, she returned to the teaching profession, culminating in her appointment as a professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba, where she then trained generations of Manitoba teachers. Although always financially independent, she was deeply grateful to her family for the many ways in which they supported her in the raising of her children.

She also continued to be welcomed as a part of her women’s circle, die Freundinnen. She was especially close to her lifelong friend Irene Enns and went on many trips with Irene and her husband Ernie. She travelled extensively – to four Canadian provinces, two European countries, and three American states to visit children and grandchildren, and then heading out on her own to explore countries in North America, Europe, and Asia, as a devoted world traveler.

Exposed to literature at a young age, she was an avid lifelong reader – as a child, appreciating the books she could take out from the Winnipeg Public Library to her later years when she was a member of several clubs devoted to poetry and literature. She called herself the Lady of the Rivers – raising her children in a house on the Red River, then moving to a condo on the Assiniboine, and then into the Seine River Retirement residence, where she made many friends and celebrated her 100th birthday.

She always loved to sing, often singing “Lasst die Herzen immer frōhlich” (Let our hearts be ever joyful) even as she was pushed in her wheelchair in the Bethania Care Home, where she spent her last years. She touched many lives with her great love of life and deep interest in and appreciation of others, especially children, and was unfailing in her attentions as a mother and grandmother, She leaves to mourn her three children – John Peters (Bev), Paul Peters, and Ingrid Peters-Fransen (Harold), her six grandchildren – Jeremy, Joel, Eric (Sarah), Matthew (Bianca), Johanna, and Stefan – and her seven great-grandchildren – James, Eleanor, Catherine, George, Perrin, Gabriella, and Andreas, as well as her sisters, Louise Penner and Helen Orestes, and sister-in-law Lorraine Willms, special family friends Rosemary Hnatiuk and Leigh Peters-Fransen, and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, she was pre-deceased by her brothers Hank and Rudy, sisters-in-law Helen Willms and Elisabeth Peters and brothers-in-law Victor Peters, Henry Penner, and Mel Orestes.

The family is grateful for the care mom received at Bethania Mennonite Personal Care Home in the last two-and-a-half years of her life – especially the pastoral care of the chaplains Marla Langelotz and Patty Enns. The family is also appreciative of faithful visitors, especially Al and Audrey Siemens, Louise Penner, Karen Watchorn, Charlotte Livingston, and Noreen Gafic. The funeral is on Monday, October 19, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at First Mennonite Church, 922 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg. In Irene’s memory, donations may be made to the Mennonite Central Committee.

Wenn du noch eine Mutter hast, so danke Gott und sei zufrieden!

Nicht allem auf dem Erdenrund ist dieses hohe Glück beschieden.

Wenn du noch eine Mutter hast, so sollst du sie mit Liebe hegen.

Daß sie einst ihr müdes Haupt in Frieden kann zur Ruhe legen,



Sie hat vom ersten Tage an für dich gelebt mit bangen Sorgen.

Sie brachte abends dich zur Ruh und weckte küssend dich am Morgen.

Und warst du krank, sie pflegte dein, den sie mit tiefem Schmerz geboren.

Und gaben alle dich schon auf, die Mutter gab dich nicht verloren.

Tributes: friendsfs.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 17, 2026