With sadness, but thankful for a life well lived, we announce the passing of Will Friesen on May 7 after a short stay at Boundary Trails Hospital.
Will Friesen was born to Peter and Helena Friesen and raised on the farm in the district of Blumstein near Winkler. He worked alongside his 10 siblings in the fields, gardens, barns and pastures typical of the self-sufficient family farms of that era. He attended grade school in Blumstein and high school in Winkler.
Will married Irmgard Paetkau on August 16, 1964. They started married life together in a new house that they built on the Friesen farm ready for its eventual move to 7th street in Winkler. The house was often full of family and friends as Will enjoyed getting together with everyone who stopped by. Will spent many hours landscaping the properties where he lived. He was constantly maintaining and improving the yard, driveway, trees and flower beds which kept him active and created areas that he enjoyed being in. He always said he liked to come home from working to a well-kept clean place. As a young man Will was baptized and became a member of the Bergthaler Mennonite Church. Together Will and Irmgard actively participated in the Bergthaler church for over 61 years undertaking a lifelong learning of living the Christian faith.
Will and Irmgard were blessed with three children. Will spent as much time as he could with his kids which included taking them along to work on the farm. This provided him with the opportunity to teach and show his children his many skills. He was especially adept at solving problems by reusing and repurposing whatever supplies happened to be on hand. Will wanted his children to enjoy more play and less work when there was opportunity. He loved bringing his kids to their various activities so he could enjoy watching them. He always provided encouragement and usually offered advice to help them improve. It was hard for him to see his children struggle when it reminded him of his own experiences so he would do whatever he could to make the lives of his children better than his own.
Will’s farming career started by renting land on the family farm in Blumstein. Later he farmed together with his brother-in-law for several years. He purchased the Burwalde farm in 1978 as well as a house and acreage near Winkler a few years later. He farmed, custom farmed, or rented these lands for the rest of his career. He had several other ventures including buying and selling cattle and working with his brother as an insurance broker. Will’s interest and attention gravitated towards the business of farming, and he very much enjoyed thinking and talking about potential opportunities anticipating where they could lead. Listening to the farm commodity prices on the radio was a priority in his daily routine.
Will was athletic and participated in several sports throughout his life. He played hockey for the 1956-57 Winkler Royals senior championship team at the age of 17 and in the same year received the award as the Most Gentlemanly Player in the league. Throughout his life he met people who remembered and talked about that team. He did not play much longer as his focus shifted to farming and he often said he quit playing hockey when he should have started. He had fond memories of playing baseball with brothers, cousins and friends for the Blumstein Orioles. Will thoroughly enjoyed the competition and camaraderie with lifelong friends for decades playing ping pong, golf and bowling.
Once he stopped actively farming, he began his retirement project of converting the Burwalde farmyard into his recreational property. His keepsakes were curated and are thoughtfully displayed in the loft of the barn while the grain bins became playhouses for the grandchildren. He was proud of his three-hole golf course and spent many hours trying out different golf swings always searching to improve his game. He loved sharing the farmyard with family and friends. This included wiener roasts, horseshoe games, paddle boating, winter sleigh rides and any other idea he could come up with to entertain his guests.
Will met and talked with people wherever he went. He made friends easily and always had a comment to help create an engaging conversion. Will enjoyed driving as it provided opportunity to see and inspect the landscape and he went on several driving vacations with family and friends. He regularly went to many of the coffee spots around Winkler and would join anyone who welcomed his company.
Will was always an independent person and lived his life the way he wanted to. He used his energy to do the things that he always did until he could not do them anymore. In his words he was aging and slowing down over the last few months but there was more to the story. His energy diminished day by day in the last few weeks and he passed away peacefully with his family at his side.
He is survived by his loving wife, Irmgard, son Greg (Lauren), son Gerald, daughter Lori (Troy), granddaughters Alyssa (Cody), Chloe, Jaelyn, Chelsea, great granddaughter Maeve, one sister (Susan), one brother (George), and many in-laws, nephews and nieces.
Burial will take place prior to the service with time to be determined.
Will Friesen was born to Peter and Helena Friesen and raised on the farm in the district of Blumstein near Winkler. He worked alongside his 10 siblings in the fields, gardens, barns and pastures typical of the self-sufficient family farms of that era. He attended grade school in Blumstein and high school in Winkler.
Will married Irmgard Paetkau on August 16, 1964. They started married life together in a new house that they built on the Friesen farm ready for its eventual move to 7th street in Winkler. The house was often full of family and friends as Will enjoyed getting together with everyone who stopped by. Will spent many hours landscaping the properties where he lived. He was constantly maintaining and improving the yard, driveway, trees and flower beds which kept him active and created areas that he enjoyed being in. He always said he liked to come home from working to a well-kept clean place. As a young man Will was baptized and became a member of the Bergthaler Mennonite Church. Together Will and Irmgard actively participated in the Bergthaler church for over 61 years undertaking a lifelong learning of living the Christian faith.
Will and Irmgard were blessed with three children. Will spent as much time as he could with his kids which included taking them along to work on the farm. This provided him with the opportunity to teach and show his children his many skills. He was especially adept at solving problems by reusing and repurposing whatever supplies happened to be on hand. Will wanted his children to enjoy more play and less work when there was opportunity. He loved bringing his kids to their various activities so he could enjoy watching them. He always provided encouragement and usually offered advice to help them improve. It was hard for him to see his children struggle when it reminded him of his own experiences so he would do whatever he could to make the lives of his children better than his own.
Will’s farming career started by renting land on the family farm in Blumstein. Later he farmed together with his brother-in-law for several years. He purchased the Burwalde farm in 1978 as well as a house and acreage near Winkler a few years later. He farmed, custom farmed, or rented these lands for the rest of his career. He had several other ventures including buying and selling cattle and working with his brother as an insurance broker. Will’s interest and attention gravitated towards the business of farming, and he very much enjoyed thinking and talking about potential opportunities anticipating where they could lead. Listening to the farm commodity prices on the radio was a priority in his daily routine.
Will was athletic and participated in several sports throughout his life. He played hockey for the 1956-57 Winkler Royals senior championship team at the age of 17 and in the same year received the award as the Most Gentlemanly Player in the league. Throughout his life he met people who remembered and talked about that team. He did not play much longer as his focus shifted to farming and he often said he quit playing hockey when he should have started. He had fond memories of playing baseball with brothers, cousins and friends for the Blumstein Orioles. Will thoroughly enjoyed the competition and camaraderie with lifelong friends for decades playing ping pong, golf and bowling.
Once he stopped actively farming, he began his retirement project of converting the Burwalde farmyard into his recreational property. His keepsakes were curated and are thoughtfully displayed in the loft of the barn while the grain bins became playhouses for the grandchildren. He was proud of his three-hole golf course and spent many hours trying out different golf swings always searching to improve his game. He loved sharing the farmyard with family and friends. This included wiener roasts, horseshoe games, paddle boating, winter sleigh rides and any other idea he could come up with to entertain his guests.
Will met and talked with people wherever he went. He made friends easily and always had a comment to help create an engaging conversion. Will enjoyed driving as it provided opportunity to see and inspect the landscape and he went on several driving vacations with family and friends. He regularly went to many of the coffee spots around Winkler and would join anyone who welcomed his company.
Will was always an independent person and lived his life the way he wanted to. He used his energy to do the things that he always did until he could not do them anymore. In his words he was aging and slowing down over the last few months but there was more to the story. His energy diminished day by day in the last few weeks and he passed away peacefully with his family at his side.
He is survived by his loving wife, Irmgard, son Greg (Lauren), son Gerald, daughter Lori (Troy), granddaughters Alyssa (Cody), Chloe, Jaelyn, Chelsea, great granddaughter Maeve, one sister (Susan), one brother (George), and many in-laws, nephews and nieces.
Burial will take place prior to the service with time to be determined.