Mom was born on a farm near Morden MB. Her family moved to a farm near Homewood in her early years. Growing up, mom used to work on the fields. She would tell of weeding the sunflower fields by hand, carrying pails of feed to the animals, and helping with other chores outdoors, as well as regular household duties helping her mom.
Mom was the oldest of 9 siblings, 2 who passed away very early in their lives, leaving 7 in total. As the oldest child, she was tasked with helping to raise some of the younger ones. This may have been unpopular for both her and the siblings! When she and her 4 sisters got together though, there was always a lot of laughing!
Mom married dad on Sept 19, 1953 and they celebrated their 71st anniversary this last September. They lived above the Walmsley grocery store in Elm Creek for several years until Terry came along, then lived in a small house in Elm Creek where Gerry was born. In 1960 they moved to the farm, where Ron and Marv came along. Growing up, the Janzen home was a hub of activity. Having 4 boys on a farm 10 years apart made for lots of things to do and people to watch.
Riding along with boys as they learned and began to drive was a hair raising experience for mom. As a front seat passenger, if things looked iffy to her, she had a habit of grabbing the door handle, grabbing the driver’s arm, and pounding her right foot down where the brake pedal would be if she would have been driving. It became known as the “Mom grab”!
With 4 growing boys, healthy meals were a necessity. Money was scarce so we grew a lot of our own food: 70 plus 1 lb bags of frozen corn harvested each summer, and 50 plus bags each of frozen beans and peas as well, along with canned chicken, canned crab apples, rhubarb preserves, frozen strawberries and much more! All of the boys learned how to help with duties, including running a vacuum, doing dishes, and making meals as Mom worked at the Boyne Lodge for a few years as a Health Care Aide. Dad was busy on the farm or in the shop repairing things, so it was on us to keep up the housekeeping.
Mom was always willing for us to have friends over and this often meant for meals too. Mom said she was nervous to entertain company, but she didn’t allow that to affect our having friends over. Whether it was cinnamon buns, lemon buns or crumb cake there were always snacks to be had. Home made pizza with Farmers sausage and garlic dill pickles, amazingly tasty canneille kuchen, lazy man’s varenyky, and of course her irresistible pumpkin pie are fond memories!
Enns family gatherings are a huge memory highlight. Often these were at our house or another Aunt and Uncle’s. If at the Assiniboine Park, we would meet at the pavilion close to the old steam engine. Sometimes we also went to Rainbow Falls in the Whiteshell Provincial Park. Of course, the Janzen gatherings at Carman Park were also a lot of fun with teasing, laughing, and, wait for it, the food!
We used to camp some, but most of our summer holiday memories are of going to Bemidji, Minnesota for a week with other families. This involved a lot of planning as Mom would often bring a lot of food along for all of us. That would have been so much work! Mom was not a sun worshipper, but she did like to spend some time in the water. I think one of her regrets was not learning how to swim. While Mom liked to go in the pool when at a hotel or in the lake at the beach, I don’t ever remember Mom going in the pond. That was for us! Though she did go for a tube ride behind a boat with dad at Bemidji one year!
Mom loved to travel and we would do day trips to the Delta Beach, St. Ambrose Beach, St. Malo, Detroit Lakes and later Bemidji for a whole week in the summer. Florida, Hawaii and Arizona were visited for a few winter getaways. She and dad also visited Alaska, Newfoundland and even spent a month in Europe thanks to some travel points from one of the boys.
Mom enjoyed walking in the country, but by the time Mom and Dad retired to Carman, her knees were done. That’s when she had both knees replaced. One was done twice. Mom had allergies so when Covid came (twice!) we thought she was done for, but nope. A broken hip? Nope. Mom soldiered on.
Mom was a prayer warrior. Countless times the boys felt Mom’s prayers saved us from going down roads or paths that would have turned out badly. A lot of prayers were offered for safety too with dirt bikes, trikes, quads and hot rods constantly in the mix when we were teens.
Devotions were important to Mom and Dad. Together as a family at mealtime and then as we got older, you would see Mom’s Bible on the table, because she had been using it. She was a great example.
Mom and Dad got involved with the Gideons, helping to tell people about God by giving out New Testaments to people. Mom was always a bit insecure and shy, but not when it came to giving out a Testament, her open honesty with people disarmed them and I don’t think she was ever turned down when she would offer to give one.
When the girls finally started to join the family, Mom called them Daughters in Love. She didn’t like the term in-law. When the grandchildren began to appear, she resurrected a game that her dad used to play with us, called “Touched you Last.” When the kids were leaving, she would touch them on the arm or head and say that phrase. This became very competitive and the grandkids all loved it!
Mom loved music and would get peeved at her dad when she and her sisters were listening to it on the radio and he would come in for a drink or a snack. On his way back out, he would walk by the radio and turn it off! Mom had a beautiful alto voice that was missed when she stopped singing in the church choir.
Sunday mornings we would wake up to the sounds of the Gospel Messengers coming through the remote record player speakers in the basement. While these Messengers had a great ministry with tight harmonies, the novelty wore off real fast with the Janzen boys!
Watching Mom and Dad deal with losing Ger 15 years ago was so hard to see. We sometimes wonder if Mom’s memory failure was partially out of self preservation. As Mom’s memory began to fail, moving Mom and Dad to Brandon 11 years ago was done to make things easier for Dad. Mom was safe at River Heights Terrace so Dad was able to come out to Marv’s workshop to work on his hobbies and help Marv with his.
It was tough to make the decision to move Mom to Fairview Home long term care facility as her memory issues progressed. Having spent those years as an Aide at Boyne Lodge, she knew what was coming and she dreaded it. We can’t say enough about the fabulous care that she received at Fairview. The nurses and PSWs all loved her.
We know that Mom is in a better place now, with no allergies, bad knees, or failing memory. She is celebrating in heaven with Ger, her siblings, her parents and all others who have gone before. A huge part of her legacy is the love and prayers that she showered on us her family and we celebrate her and thank her for that! We love you Mom!!
Aggie is survived by husband Abe Janzen, son, Terry (wife Jane, son Jonathan); Predeceased son-Gerry (wife Debbie, now married to Don Groening, daughters Ashley (Dan), Melodie (Cody, sons- Jediah, Beau, Caleb and Marcus), Kristen (Steve), Janessa and Jessica.; son-Ron (wife Deb); son Marv (wife Tana, son Thomas (wife -Jessica son Rowan), son Ben( wife Sarah), daughter Hannah.
Mom’s surviving sister Hilda Dick(Werner).
Mom was the oldest of 9 siblings, 2 who passed away very early in their lives, leaving 7 in total. As the oldest child, she was tasked with helping to raise some of the younger ones. This may have been unpopular for both her and the siblings! When she and her 4 sisters got together though, there was always a lot of laughing!
Mom married dad on Sept 19, 1953 and they celebrated their 71st anniversary this last September. They lived above the Walmsley grocery store in Elm Creek for several years until Terry came along, then lived in a small house in Elm Creek where Gerry was born. In 1960 they moved to the farm, where Ron and Marv came along. Growing up, the Janzen home was a hub of activity. Having 4 boys on a farm 10 years apart made for lots of things to do and people to watch.
Riding along with boys as they learned and began to drive was a hair raising experience for mom. As a front seat passenger, if things looked iffy to her, she had a habit of grabbing the door handle, grabbing the driver’s arm, and pounding her right foot down where the brake pedal would be if she would have been driving. It became known as the “Mom grab”!
With 4 growing boys, healthy meals were a necessity. Money was scarce so we grew a lot of our own food: 70 plus 1 lb bags of frozen corn harvested each summer, and 50 plus bags each of frozen beans and peas as well, along with canned chicken, canned crab apples, rhubarb preserves, frozen strawberries and much more! All of the boys learned how to help with duties, including running a vacuum, doing dishes, and making meals as Mom worked at the Boyne Lodge for a few years as a Health Care Aide. Dad was busy on the farm or in the shop repairing things, so it was on us to keep up the housekeeping.
Mom was always willing for us to have friends over and this often meant for meals too. Mom said she was nervous to entertain company, but she didn’t allow that to affect our having friends over. Whether it was cinnamon buns, lemon buns or crumb cake there were always snacks to be had. Home made pizza with Farmers sausage and garlic dill pickles, amazingly tasty canneille kuchen, lazy man’s varenyky, and of course her irresistible pumpkin pie are fond memories!
Enns family gatherings are a huge memory highlight. Often these were at our house or another Aunt and Uncle’s. If at the Assiniboine Park, we would meet at the pavilion close to the old steam engine. Sometimes we also went to Rainbow Falls in the Whiteshell Provincial Park. Of course, the Janzen gatherings at Carman Park were also a lot of fun with teasing, laughing, and, wait for it, the food!
We used to camp some, but most of our summer holiday memories are of going to Bemidji, Minnesota for a week with other families. This involved a lot of planning as Mom would often bring a lot of food along for all of us. That would have been so much work! Mom was not a sun worshipper, but she did like to spend some time in the water. I think one of her regrets was not learning how to swim. While Mom liked to go in the pool when at a hotel or in the lake at the beach, I don’t ever remember Mom going in the pond. That was for us! Though she did go for a tube ride behind a boat with dad at Bemidji one year!
Mom loved to travel and we would do day trips to the Delta Beach, St. Ambrose Beach, St. Malo, Detroit Lakes and later Bemidji for a whole week in the summer. Florida, Hawaii and Arizona were visited for a few winter getaways. She and dad also visited Alaska, Newfoundland and even spent a month in Europe thanks to some travel points from one of the boys.
Mom enjoyed walking in the country, but by the time Mom and Dad retired to Carman, her knees were done. That’s when she had both knees replaced. One was done twice. Mom had allergies so when Covid came (twice!) we thought she was done for, but nope. A broken hip? Nope. Mom soldiered on.
Mom was a prayer warrior. Countless times the boys felt Mom’s prayers saved us from going down roads or paths that would have turned out badly. A lot of prayers were offered for safety too with dirt bikes, trikes, quads and hot rods constantly in the mix when we were teens.
Devotions were important to Mom and Dad. Together as a family at mealtime and then as we got older, you would see Mom’s Bible on the table, because she had been using it. She was a great example.
Mom and Dad got involved with the Gideons, helping to tell people about God by giving out New Testaments to people. Mom was always a bit insecure and shy, but not when it came to giving out a Testament, her open honesty with people disarmed them and I don’t think she was ever turned down when she would offer to give one.
When the girls finally started to join the family, Mom called them Daughters in Love. She didn’t like the term in-law. When the grandchildren began to appear, she resurrected a game that her dad used to play with us, called “Touched you Last.” When the kids were leaving, she would touch them on the arm or head and say that phrase. This became very competitive and the grandkids all loved it!
Mom loved music and would get peeved at her dad when she and her sisters were listening to it on the radio and he would come in for a drink or a snack. On his way back out, he would walk by the radio and turn it off! Mom had a beautiful alto voice that was missed when she stopped singing in the church choir.
Sunday mornings we would wake up to the sounds of the Gospel Messengers coming through the remote record player speakers in the basement. While these Messengers had a great ministry with tight harmonies, the novelty wore off real fast with the Janzen boys!
Watching Mom and Dad deal with losing Ger 15 years ago was so hard to see. We sometimes wonder if Mom’s memory failure was partially out of self preservation. As Mom’s memory began to fail, moving Mom and Dad to Brandon 11 years ago was done to make things easier for Dad. Mom was safe at River Heights Terrace so Dad was able to come out to Marv’s workshop to work on his hobbies and help Marv with his.
It was tough to make the decision to move Mom to Fairview Home long term care facility as her memory issues progressed. Having spent those years as an Aide at Boyne Lodge, she knew what was coming and she dreaded it. We can’t say enough about the fabulous care that she received at Fairview. The nurses and PSWs all loved her.
We know that Mom is in a better place now, with no allergies, bad knees, or failing memory. She is celebrating in heaven with Ger, her siblings, her parents and all others who have gone before. A huge part of her legacy is the love and prayers that she showered on us her family and we celebrate her and thank her for that! We love you Mom!!
Aggie is survived by husband Abe Janzen, son, Terry (wife Jane, son Jonathan); Predeceased son-Gerry (wife Debbie, now married to Don Groening, daughters Ashley (Dan), Melodie (Cody, sons- Jediah, Beau, Caleb and Marcus), Kristen (Steve), Janessa and Jessica.; son-Ron (wife Deb); son Marv (wife Tana, son Thomas (wife -Jessica son Rowan), son Ben( wife Sarah), daughter Hannah.
Mom’s surviving sister Hilda Dick(Werner).