Anne Kehler

Anne Giesbrecht Kehler

1930 - 2019

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Anne

Obituary of Anne Giesbrecht Kehler

<p>Anne Kehler, age 88, of Steinbach, MB, passed away on Wednesday, October 2, 2019, at Cedarwood Supportive Housing, Steinbach, MB.</p> <p>Born in Pansy, Manitoba Anne grew up in rural Manitoba until moving to Steinbach at age 12 to live with her older sister, Helen, and brother-in-law, Peter F. Kehler alongside sister Margaret and three teenage brothers. Anne Giesbrecht and Peter L. Kehler met at one of her nieces&rsquo; showers, and following a series of dates, discovered they &ldquo;were meant for each other&rdquo;. They married in 1975 at the Steinbach EMB Church (Cornerstone Bible Church) where they still were members, though could not be as involved as they wanted to be during the last years of their declining health issues. They enjoyed their years together in shared activities, having many winter holidays in warmer climes, as well as road trips in Canada and the USA visiting relatives or sharing vacation times with friends.</p> <p>She was a wonderfully loving, appreciative and supportive wife to Pete till he died in October 2017.&nbsp; Anne and Pete were married for 42 years and their love and respect for each other was wonderful to observe.</p> <p>Though Anne and Pete did not have their own children, they &ldquo;adopted&rdquo; many of us nieces and nephews, and our families as well.&nbsp; Aunty Anne&rsquo;s sincere empathetic character clearly showed in how naturally she related to children, and they to her. For me, living under the same roof, she was a surrogate Mom! &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Whether you remember Anne as a Sunday-school teacher who taught lessons with imaginative visual aids, a cook and baker extraordinaire at Pete&rsquo;s Inn, making her home welcoming and beautiful or attending to her own fashionable appearance, she was meticulous. She assisted me with my school projects from elementary grades through high school. Although she had no piano training herself, she coached me in preparation for competitions. My dolls and stuffed toys joined her as my audience, for whom I performed, and was drilled in learning to bow with confidence. She taught me to strive for excellence, but with a humble attitude.&nbsp;</p> <p>Anne always lamented not having had the opportunity to complete high school, because she wanted to be a nurse. Judging from the many injuries she successfully attended to, she would have been a great one, and was&mdash;even without the formal knowledge or degree!&nbsp; She not only helped pull most of my teeth painlessly, and treated the leftover wounds most tenderly, but treated more serious cuts and burns that were inevitable within a large busy commercial kitchen like she managed at Pete&rsquo;s Inn. Both her and sister Margaret became partners in the restaurant business. With focused clarity and efficiency, she trained and oversaw food ordering, the daily food preparation, and the personnel who assisted her- an incredible cook and baker- who fueled our family business, Pete&rsquo;s Inn, for close to 30 successful years.&nbsp;</p> <p>Many people were recipients of generous edible gifts&mdash;perishky, pies or her famous soups, and these acts of caring continued until two years ago. Despite the challenges and discomfort that she experienced during her dementia, and the confusing times when she &ldquo;didn&rsquo;t know what was happening to her&rdquo;, she always found some way to express her gratefulness for the people who cared for her. She loved going to Smitty&rsquo;s, not just for the outing, but for the interaction and attention she enjoyed with the waitresses and owners, Robert and Chris Dyck.</p> <p>She is predeceased by her parents, Abraham and Anna Braun Giesbrecht, husband, Peter L. Kehler, three sisters, and eight brothers. She was the last surviving sibling of 12 children.</p> <p>Surviving are especially close family members:&nbsp; two caregiver nieces: Iris Kornelsen and Judy Kehler Siebert, brother-in-law, Garnet Reimer, nephew and niece, Mike and Ruby Kehler, Helen (Kehler) and Bryan Howell, John and Tina Kehler, Abe Kehler, Eva (Kehler) Doerksen, and many nieces and nephews.</p> <p>Judy and Iris wish to particularly thank the folks at Bethesda Hospital during her stays; the especially compassionate, dedicated caregivers at Cedarwood together with extra special care from Dr. Krahn and Dr. Porath, and the exceptional relationship with particular caregivers from Silver Lining who augmented our small family with their compassion and love these last two years. They thank Pastor Eric Honsberger for presiding at the memorial service.</p> <p>Donations in memory of Anne Kehler may be made to Cedarwood Personal Care, or Mennonite Central Committee.</p> <p>The funeral service will be held on Monday, October 7, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, Manitoba. &nbsp;Private family interment will take place at Heritage Cemetery, Steinbach, MB.</p>

Funeral Service

Monday, October 07, 2019 1:00 PM Birchwood Funeral Chapel 162 Hwy 52 W, Steinbach, Manitoba R5G 1Y1