HELEN (MRS. PETER F.) KEHLER

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HELEN (MRS. PETER F.) KEHLER Helen Kehler, born March 7, 1922; died January 25, 2002. Born in Barkfield, MB, Helen Kehler moved briefly to Paraguay as a child before returning to Southeastern Manitoba for the rest of her life. Like many of her generation, her childhood and youth were times of hardship and poverty. She met Peter at JHR Lunch in Steinbach and they were married in 1940 when she was 18. They started a hot dog stand together, which grew into Petes Inn - a landmark restaurant known far and wide. Their business expanded steadily over the next 35 years. After selling Petes Inn in 1975, they operated the Red Barn Restaurant at the Mennonite Village Museum for another three years. In everything, Helen and Peter were close, hard-working partners for 60 years. A milestone in their lives, was their conversion and becoming members of the EMB Church in 1955 (now Cornerstone Bible Church). In later years, Helen Kehler was challenged by ill health several times, but she repeatedly demonstrated the strength and will power needed to overcome adversity. She was given the grace to be with Peter in the final three years of his illness, maintaining the partnership "in sickness and in health" that marked their marriage. Even when facing pain and suffering, Helen never lost her sense of humour. She could always be counted on for a sly, witty comment. A lifetime of practical experience working with people, young and older, in business and service led her to be slow to judge others, and quick to forgive. Several other milestones shaped Helen Kehlers life. A few years after her marriage, she took three younger siblings into her home and became "mother" to an instant family. The joy at the birth in 1953 of Pete and Helens first child, Judy, was tempered by the death in infancy of another son and daughter. Judy and her husband, Allan, in turn brought Helen and Peters only grandchild into their lives in 1981. A special bond of love grew up between Helen and her granddaughter, and Clarisse sat many hours beside her grandmother in the hospital up to the moment of the final goodbye. Though her final days brought pain and suffering, Helens strong faith made her confident of a new life beyond the grave. As the bounds of this life closed around her, at the end she said in a clear voice: "Soon I will be strong again." She was predeceased by her husband of over 60 years, Peter F. Kehler; two children, Robert Wayne (1956) and Cynthia Mae (1964) her parents, Abraham and Anna B. Giesbrecht; one sister; and six brothers. Surviving are her daughter, Judy Kehler Siebert and her husband, Allan Siebert; her only granddaughter, Clarisse Kehler Siebert; two brothers and their families: Ike and Mary, and Ben and Nina; and two sisters and their families who have been especially close: Anne and Peter Kehler and Margaret and Garnet Reimer. The family wishes to thank in particular the "extended family" of homecare, Bethesda Hospital nurses, Dr. G. Haggard, and especially Dr. C. Minnaar, for their compassion and caring. Donations in Helen Kehlers memory may be made to the Bethesda Hospital Palliative Care Program or the Mennonite Village Museum Windmill Fund. Funeral services were held Monday, January 28 at Cornerstone Bible Church, Steinbach, MB at 2:00 p.m. Arrangements entrusted to Loewen Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB. 1-204-326-1351.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 30, 2002