Maria Loewen the daughter of Heinrich and Helene Wiebe (nee Friesen) was born on the eighth of November 1913 in Halbstadt, Southern Russia. She lived through two world wars and survived two hunger famines in Southern Russia. She was baptized in the Neuendorf church in the Chortiza colony in 1932. She married Jacob Peter Loewen on March 16, 1937. There was no Church wedding , the young couple went to the local municipality and signed the wedding papers without any witnesses or friends present. In 1937 most grown men were arrested and sent into the labor camps in Northern Russia but Jacob with God’s help managed to avoid this. Again in 1941 as the advancing German army approached most of the adult males were evacuated to the East but Jacob was spared again. Jacob and Maria with young son Victor fled to the west with the retreating German army in the Great Trek of 1943 and they reached Warthegau. The Trek was very stressful as there was cold, hunger and fears of attacks, fears of the future, fears of separation, etc.Then Jacob was conscripted into the German army and Maria and Victor fled further to the west and Elfrieda was born along the way. Meanwhile Jacob became a British prisoner of War. After his release he found out that his Wife and child had fled further west and he also fled further west to avoid the Russian repatriation and found his family again.They were one of the few privileged families who fled the Soviet union and were reunited again in Germany. They received permission to emigrate to Paraguay but when they reached the harbor where the boat was docked they found out that there wasn’t any room left on the ship and they expected to be shipped back to Russia but C.F Klassen informed them that there was an opportunity to go to Canada, They came to my Dad’s farm between Dominion City and Arnaud on December 2,1949. They endured a cold harsh winter and in spring of 1950 was the great flood and Maria and her family were evacuated again but only for a short while. I was a teen-ager going to MCI those first years that Jacob and Maria worked for my Father and they enjoyed the farm work but after a few years he moved his family to Arnaud and he and Maria became custodians of the Arnaud school and they performed those duties for twenty years. They always kept a cow to milk and always found an outlet for the excess milk that the family did not require. They attended worship services regularly at the Arnaud Mennonite Church even after it changed over entirely to the English language which was an inspirational role model to many younger members. She was a member of the Arnaud Mennonite Church for over 60 years. After every Sunday morning service the younger children in our congregation would flock around Maria Loewen because her purse always contained treats for them. She had a way with flowers and their home and yard at the corner of the 218 and the cheese factory road (road 16 E) was the showplace of Arnaud for many years. Many people had their picture taken on this yard even the Arnaud girls choir had an official picture taken there. It deteriorated quickly after they moved to Grunthal on October 6,1995. Maria passed away on the 20th of December, 2009 at the Grunthal Menno Home at the age of 96 years. She leaves to cherish her memory, her daughter Elfrieda Sheets, her son Victor and wife Pat, grandchildren Alice (Jay), Caroline (Ernest), Ed (Pam), Glen, Irene (Kevin) and nine great grandchildren. She will also be lovingly remembered by many friends and neighbors in the Arnaud and Grunthal districts. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband Jacob in 2002, two sons Peter and Waldemar in 1938. The funeral service for Maria Loewen will take place Wednesday, December 23, at 11:00 a.m. at the Arnaud Mennonite Church with interment at the church cemetery. Viewing will be at the church, prior to the service. Should friends so desire, donations may be made to the Menno Home Foundation, Box 280; Grunthal, MB R0A 0R0.