Our mother, grandmother and great grandmother Katharina (Tina) Harder peacefully passed away at home at the age of 89 on December 2, 2020 after having fought cancer for several months.
Tina was born as a third child of four to Johann and Anna Harder on February 18th 1931 in Friedensfeld, Ukraine during a very hard time of severe famine and oppression by the Stalin regime. When war broke out the family was deported to Kustanaj, Kazakhstan with many other German families. Tina's job was to beg for food for their family to survive.
In 1948 the family moved to Pavlowka where Tina had two children; her daughter, Lidia (1952) and her son, Jakob (1954) who passed away in infancy. In 1959 she came to faith and was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was lots of music and singing in the Harder family which influenced Tina's spiritual growth. As an adult she taught herself to read and write and enjoyed reading books, copying and memorizing poems and songs.
In 1974 the family moved to Germany, where her life became easier. Tina has always been generous and supported mission work financially. Since she was very talented in languages she worked with a missionary radio program for Kazakhstan by translating and singing songs in the Kazakh language.
For almost two decades the highlight of her year was her 4 week holidays in her beloved Israel, where she made lots of friends and learned some Hebrew.
She had to work very hard all her life to survive and to provide for her family. When talking about the difficult years she said “God has always carried us! He was always with us. ”
In 2017 she permanently moved to Winkler to join Lidia and Viktor Nikel and their 5 children with families. This last move was hard as she had to let go of her independence, deal with several health issues, and just didn't feel at home here. Her longing was for her eternal home that she loved to sing about:
“ When after this world's suffering, work and pain
I will move onto the golden streets
Then just seeing my saviour
Will be my reason for joy and worship.
That will be glory, that will be glory
When free from pain I will see His face”
Tina is survived by her daughter, Lidia (Viktor) Nikel, grandchildren, Rudy (Nelly) Nikel, Heinrich (Irene) Nikel, Alex (Julie) Nikel, Daniel (Anna) Nikel, and Liane (Warren) Thiessen and 16 great grandchildren: Joel, Melissa and Fiona Nikel, Lea (Nathaniel)Brinkman, Noah, Kian, Marc and Jaden Nikel, Joshua, David and Tabea Nikel, Kathleen, Luke and Amy Nikel and Jillian and Milam Thiessen. Also by her sister, Lena Harder, sister-in-law, Natalia Harder and many nieces and nephews and their families in Germany. She was predeceased by her parents, Johann and Anna Harder, her son, Jakob, her two brothers, Johann and Peter Harder and sister-in-law, Rosa Harder.
We are thankful for the compassionate care of the staff at Salem Home where she went for respite, and all the Home Care staff who helped care for her, especially Ruth. Thank you also to Wiebe Funeral Home for their compassionate services.
Tina was born as a third child of four to Johann and Anna Harder on February 18th 1931 in Friedensfeld, Ukraine during a very hard time of severe famine and oppression by the Stalin regime. When war broke out the family was deported to Kustanaj, Kazakhstan with many other German families. Tina's job was to beg for food for their family to survive.
In 1948 the family moved to Pavlowka where Tina had two children; her daughter, Lidia (1952) and her son, Jakob (1954) who passed away in infancy. In 1959 she came to faith and was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was lots of music and singing in the Harder family which influenced Tina's spiritual growth. As an adult she taught herself to read and write and enjoyed reading books, copying and memorizing poems and songs.
In 1974 the family moved to Germany, where her life became easier. Tina has always been generous and supported mission work financially. Since she was very talented in languages she worked with a missionary radio program for Kazakhstan by translating and singing songs in the Kazakh language.
For almost two decades the highlight of her year was her 4 week holidays in her beloved Israel, where she made lots of friends and learned some Hebrew.
She had to work very hard all her life to survive and to provide for her family. When talking about the difficult years she said “God has always carried us! He was always with us. ”
In 2017 she permanently moved to Winkler to join Lidia and Viktor Nikel and their 5 children with families. This last move was hard as she had to let go of her independence, deal with several health issues, and just didn't feel at home here. Her longing was for her eternal home that she loved to sing about:
“ When after this world's suffering, work and pain
I will move onto the golden streets
Then just seeing my saviour
Will be my reason for joy and worship.
That will be glory, that will be glory
When free from pain I will see His face”
Tina is survived by her daughter, Lidia (Viktor) Nikel, grandchildren, Rudy (Nelly) Nikel, Heinrich (Irene) Nikel, Alex (Julie) Nikel, Daniel (Anna) Nikel, and Liane (Warren) Thiessen and 16 great grandchildren: Joel, Melissa and Fiona Nikel, Lea (Nathaniel)Brinkman, Noah, Kian, Marc and Jaden Nikel, Joshua, David and Tabea Nikel, Kathleen, Luke and Amy Nikel and Jillian and Milam Thiessen. Also by her sister, Lena Harder, sister-in-law, Natalia Harder and many nieces and nephews and their families in Germany. She was predeceased by her parents, Johann and Anna Harder, her son, Jakob, her two brothers, Johann and Peter Harder and sister-in-law, Rosa Harder.
We are thankful for the compassionate care of the staff at Salem Home where she went for respite, and all the Home Care staff who helped care for her, especially Ruth. Thank you also to Wiebe Funeral Home for their compassionate services.