TINA (DOERKSEN) NEUFELD

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TINA (DOERKSEN) NEUFELD On Sunday, December 9, 2001, one of the angels of the earth was taken from us and from this life of joy and hardship to her rightful, eternally joyful home. The void left by her passing is only our sense of loss, not the sadness of an unfinished life or anything left to be done. Tina Doerksen arrived on this earth on June 27, 1927 in Barkfield, MB, to Isaac F. and Susanna Doerksen, the third of 10 children. Although she surely felt the hard bite of the Depression in her early years, she was loved by her parents and grew up in the strength of a closely knit family, in evidence to all of us through the years and to the day of her death. In her own words, though, the adventurous journey of her life began in 1943, when, at the age of 16, she accepted a ride home in a 1920 Pontiac from Harry Neufeld. They were married on April 25, 1948, in Steinbach, MB, where they lived all their lives, except for a year and some months in Paraguay in the late 1980s. Although her occupation might have been listed as homemaker, Tina worked for several small businesses, not only because she wanted to augment the family income, but because she genuinely enjoyed the interactions and relationships in those circumstances. As well, the steady departure of bread, soup, preserved goods, cakes, and pies from her kitchen to other tables made it clear that she was in part a homemaker to many. She often said that a good appetite was a blessing, and many of the stories we tell about her have something to do with the great production and consumption of food in our home. Few of us, it should be added, have memories that do not include images of her with knitting needles or a sewing machine. No summary of Tinas life would be complete, and especially to her, without a mention of her faith. She was baptized into the EMC Church on July 30, 1944, and never wavered in her commitment to her Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, or in her belief that in all things there was a purpose related to the Kingdom of God. This belief formed the basis for all her values and decisions, and while we knew that it was the goodness of her being which led her to do so much for others, she always maintained she was nothing without her God. We do not diminish any other part of Tinas life by saying that nothing on this earth meant more to her than her family - her husband, her children, her sons and daughters-in-law, and her grandchildren - and nothing gave her greater pleasure than to see as many of them as possible at one time, preferably around one of her ample tables or at the cottage, the centre of family life in the summer. She was predeceased by her husband Harry and her daughter Joanne, and leaves to mourn Harry and Jean (Johnson) of Calgary, Ken and Kaaren (Peters) and Twila (Cruikshank) of Winnipeg, Lois and Dave Penner and Don Janzen of Steinbach, and David of Portland, OR; her grandchildren, Michael, Jeremy, Megan, Joshua, Bryan, Mark, Matthew, Timothy and David John; brothers and sisters; nieces and nephews. We will always remember her as the one who gave us life and food and humour; who gave us our instincts for kindness and for the life of the spirit; who showed us how to deal with death and seek the life beyond it. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in the name of Tina Neufeld to Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 13 at 2:00 p.m. at the Steinbach Evangelical Mennonite Church, 422 Main St., with viewing at the church prior to the service. Arrangements by Loewen Funeral Chapels of Steinbach, 204-326-1351.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 13, 2001