Helen P Loewen (Friesen) was born on October 31, 1926; at home in the St Anne municipality. Her parents were John and Gertrude Friesen. She was the third youngest of 12 children. She married John P Loewen of Blumenort on October 9, 1949. Five sons and three daughters were born to Mom and Dad. One daughter, Florence, was abruptly taken from them through a farming accident in 1955. This brought deep anguish to mom’s heart. Mom and Dad built their first house on the farm where Dad grew up and a few years later, they started their own homestead half a mile down the road. Mom was a farmer’s wife and grew to love gardening, flowers, handwork, crocheting, knitting, reading, going on walks, and enjoying the sights and sounds of birds. Mom became a Christian at an early age and was baptized on July 25, 1943. Little did she know that her farming husband would become a church deacon of the Blumenort EMC. Four years after that, mom and dad left on a one-year mission assignment to Mexico. A few years later mom became a pastor’s wife as dad was elected pastor of the Blumenort EMC Church. This pastorate was to last 23 years; from 1962 to 1985. Mom became an energetic host to church families and visiting speakers. She kept a record of the people who came through the house. Over one span of about 16 months, from August '75 to 'Nov 76, 1200 had been hosted by mom. The biggest meals were always reserved for Sunday noon, where family and guests were treated to roast beef, chicken, pork, and all that goes with it. Mom was a champion of peace. She craved peace on different levels. It grieved her deeply when her children weren’t getting along. She wanted peace to rule in her home, her heart, and in the lives of her children. Mom loved her children and grandchildren deeply. She showed her affection unashamedly. When her children came to visit from a distance, the visit was never long enough for mom. As children, we could never make too many phone calls to mom. She knew when we were travelling and always wanted to know if we were home safely. She was always ready to feed us, no matter what time of the day. Mom’s homemade verenkji were a treat. She was even known to give pails of verenkji as birthday gifts. Mom became a world traveler of sorts and visited foreign countries with Dad. These included Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Hungary, Switzerland, France, Austria, Germany, Holland, Mexico, Belize. After Dad passed away she traveled to Mexico and Russia. Leaving her children behind was not a pleasant experience for mom. On the converse side of that; Mom’s heart broke time after time as she had to release her children to foreign missions in different countries. Mom Loewen was a true prayer warrior. She prayed for all of her children and grandchildren by name, twice a day. Having her war in prayer on behalf of one of us over the phone makes for an indelible memory. Her prayers were more than typical monotone poems or clichés; she really entered in! Any missionary or minister would love to have mom on their prayer team! Mom became more and more enamored with Heaven. Part of this was due to knowing that her precious little daughter and husband were waiting for her there. She read books on Heaven. She wondered why preachers didn’t speak more of Heaven. She admitted to praying to God for a vision of Heaven. Having said that, she also wondered why preachers didn’t preach more on hell. Mom was very serious about eternal matters. She knew that her salvation rested completely in her precious Savior, Jesus Christ; and that her sins were washed away by His precious blood. The gospel was precious to mother and she deeply desired that everyone embrace it. Mom was a true Heavenly minded Christian who shifted the Heavenlies with her praying. In 1980, mom had her first bout of cancer. This brought great fear to the family. God graciously healed her and gave her back to us for another 31 years. Thank-you Jesus! But cancer struck again and this time she was not to recover. On June 4, 2011, Mom stepped across the finish line right into the arms of her precious Saviour. It seems to us as a family that God may have begun to give her a glimpse or glimpses of glory, which she so craved, when 6 hours before her death, she suddenly exclaimed, “Oh My, Oh My, Oh My….!” in a tone of wonder or astonishment. Isn't God good?!? We want to give a deep, heart-felt “Thank-you” to the regional palliative care program. The care of Dr. Kaethler was warm and tender. Nurses Anne Plett and Debbie Krahn were absolutely amazing! She leaves to mourn her passing and to carry on her legacy of love for Jesus: son John and Maria of Stratton, ON and children Jonathan and Liudmila (Dalia and Etienne), Priscilla and Mark (Reuel and Micaiah), David and Sara, Hannah, Esther, Joanna, Tabea, Asenath,and Samuel, son Arley and Janice of Blumenort and daughters Rachel and Rebecca, daughter Marian and Peter Redekopp of Crystal City, MB, son Cliff and Pauline of Blumenort and children Chris, Michelle, and Heather, daughter Junia of Winnipeg, son Dale and Cori of Steinbach, MB, and children Jackson, Davis, Weston, and Texas, and son Glenn and Maribeth of Portage, MB and children Christian, Anicka, Marcus, and Natasha. She leaves to mourn her passing one brother, Henry and Elizabeth of Morweena, and three sister-in-laws, Sara Friesen of Blumenort, Dora Friesen of Landmark, and Mina Friesen of Blumenort. The funeral service for Helen Loewen will be held on Thursday, June 9th, at 2:00pm at the Blumenort Evangelical Mennonite Church, with interment at the Blumenort EMC cemetery.