Maria Bartsch (nee Froese)
1919 - 2014
Maria was born to Jacob J Froese and Margaret Froese (nee Enns) on May 1st 1919 in Reinfeld, MB. She was born into a family of 15 children, of which only five survived past early childhood. Maria spent her childhood years living on the family farm in Reinfeld and attending the village school. Upon completing the 8th grade, Maria was needed to help on the farm and was therefore unable to fulfil her dream of becoming a nurse. Maria was baptized by her confession of faith in the Old Colony Church and on December 13th 1942, she married the love of her life, Henry Bartsch from Hague, SK, who at that time was working as a hired hand on a nearby farm.
Together, Henry and Maria established their home across the street from Maria's parents in Reinfeld. They resided on the same farm yard for the next 43 years. During this time they were blessed with six children – two sons and four daughters. In 1986 Henry and Maria semi-retired and moved to Winkler where they enjoyed living in their new home until they moved again into a condo in Oakview Terrace in 1998. This is where Mom and Dad spent their last years together until Mom's health deteriorated and she needed more care than Dad could provide. On March 3rd 2011, Mom moved into Salem Nursing Home where she was lovingly cared for by the staff until she went to be with Lord on November 23th 2014.
Mother has left an indelible imprint on the many lives she has touched through her wonderful and exceptional gifts of hospitality, generosity, many years of faithfully teaching Sunday School students and the many more hours she spent in preparation with Bible study. There were various activities and services in the Reinfeld Sewing Circle, which she so enjoyed and where she provided leadership as the president, with a serving heart. These were the things she was passionate about and which brought purpose and meaning to her life. Above all she loved the Lord with all her heart and remained his faithful servant. She will be dearly missed but her prayers will remain in effect and the example she provided will continue to remain a standard for those us who follow in her footsteps.
Maria is survived by six children, Jake ( Eileen ), Agnes ( Bill Nykiforuk), Margaret ( Dave Wieler ), Anne ( Robert Schneider ), Esther ( Jake Froese ), Menno ( Brenda ), 17 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, one brother, John Froese and one sister-in-law, Ann Froese. She was predeceased by her husband of 68 years, Henry in 2012, one stillborn daughter, parents – Bishop Jacob J Froese and Margaret Froese, two brothers and one sister.
Memorial service was held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday November 27, 2014 at Winkler Mennonite Church with interment prior to the service at Reinfeld Cemetery.
As a family we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful staff at Salem for their exceptional, loving and compassionate care which they extended to our precious Mother; especially in those last few weeks when she experienced many bouts of extreme anxiety and distress. The staff took the extra time to sit with Mom, hold her hand and comfort her. From the bottom of our heart we want to say Thank You so very much!
Wiebe Funeral Home, Winkler
In care of arrangements
wiebefuneralhomes.com