Katherine Ruth Loewen (nee Neufeld) was born on March 25, 1925, in Morden, MB, to Peter and Katherine Neufeld (nee Klassen). She was the oldest of eight children. From an early age she had an insatiable curiosity that drove her to read books of all kinds. Not surprisingly, after high school she attended Normal School in Winnipeg, and then taught school for two years in the communities of Caliento in southern Manitoba, and in Cross Lake in northern Manitoba. Her continued thirst for knowledge then sent her to Mennonite Brethren Bible College in Winnipeg, where she became the first woman to graduate with a Bachelor of Theology degree in 1949. It was here that she met our father, Wilbert Loewen. Katherine and Wilbert were married in 1950, and between 1951 and 1964 they had six children. Although Mom enjoyed cooking and sewing, what she really loved was reading, writing, and learning. Yes, she bragged about her spoon bread recipe, she sewed countless outfits for all of us, but her favourite pastimes had nothing to do with domestics. Rather, she loved to follow the camera of Jacques Costeau as he explored the fascinating underwater world, she would go on line to view pictures sent to earth by the Hubble telescope, and she was constantly immersing herself in a book. Always a voracious reader, she devoured books by Erich Fromm the psychologist, Paul Tournier the Christian counselor, Virginia Satir the psychotherapist, and, of course, myriad mystery writers including her beloved Dick Francis. And whenever she could, in whatever city or town she found herself, she enrolled at the local college or university for available courses in the arts. Our mother not only cooked, cleaned and sewed for us, she also silently sent out the message that women too had intellectual curiosities. Mom eventually found an outlet that combined her love of both thinking and writing: in the 1970s she was asked to write a monthly column for the EMB church’s periodical, the Gospel Tidings. In these articles she attempted to integrate her domestic life with her intellectual life; her writing centered around the everyday - how to live a life of integrity as a Christian housewife and mother – as they simultaneously and perhaps subversively hinted at a longing for more. Over the course of their lives together, our father’s studying or his job as a teacher, an administrator and/or a pastor took our family many places. Our parents lived in four different houses in Steinbach, they resided in both Lincoln and Jansen in Nebraska, USA; they moved from one house to another in Morris, MB, and they called at least five different places home in Winnipeg. Finally, in 1994, on Lenore Street in Winnipeg, Mom had the “character house” she always wanted. Some people might have called her place cluttered, but Mom loved to cover her wall with paintings by Rembrandt, with pictures of her grandchildren, to leave books and magazines strewn across her coffee table, to keep bits of fabric lying around waiting to be turned into bibs or quilts for MCC. The kind of life she chose to live was evident in her surroundings. She was a non-conformist and insisted on marching to the beat of her own drum. This did not always make for an easy or happy life, but she surely tried to live life with integrity. Our mother loved music. She and our father took us children to Pops concerts by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on Sunday afternoons, they always had their radio tuned to the classical music station, and they strongly encouraged all of us to play the piano. Mom also loved to sing congregational hymns and was always disgruntled when a song leader opted to omit a verse, regardless of how many there were. Her alto voice hung on to the last note until her innate rhythmic sense told her to let go. Not a shy or a particularly modest woman, our mother nevertheless had a side to her that has never been on public display. While her thirst for knowledge led to an acute awareness of the world around her, and consequently civil wars, natural disasters, and unscrupulous political leaders were often discussed around the dinner table, she also chose to show a more local compassion. Perhaps because she often felt misunderstood herself, perhaps because she believed in living out her Christian faith, or both, Mom was never a “respecter of persons”; she befriended people who were not mainstream, she wrote letters to countless people who were far from home, she listened empathetically to the stories of others’ hardships, and she established strong relationships with people from other cultures and races. Mom consistently reached out to a broad range of people with her gift of undemanding friendship. The same curiosity that motivated her quest for learning allowed her to view people different from herself with openness and wisdom. She would often say, “You have to take people as you find them.” As a result, Mom has left us a legacy of inclusiveness that will continue to shine in the darkness that her death has created. ********************************** Her sudden diagnosis of widespread cancer on July 16 of this year took us all by surprise. However, Mom quickly recognized the inevitable and courageously accepted the fact that she was going to die. As the illness took hold she became weaker by the day. But she continued to engage, albeit briefly, with those tending her, until her spirit was no longer present. We held her hand as her flesh finally gave out on August 1, 2010, but we are confident that her vibrant spirit will continue to live on in all of us. Katherine Neufeld Loewen leaves to mourn her husband, Wilbert; six children: Ruth, Phil (and Sue), Mary Ann (and Roy), Chris (and Patty), Rick (and Deb), and Lynda (and Elden); thirteen grandchildren: Jacquie, Dan (and Nicole), Matt, Rebecca, Meg, Sasha, Kiah, Ethan, Seth, Emma, Gracie, Joshua, and Daniel; and countless friends and family members. Viewing will be held at Meadowood Manor, 577 St. Annes Rd, Winnipeg on Thursday, August 5 at 7:00 p.m. with a devotional at 7:30 p.m. The funeral service will be held Friday, August 6 at 2:00 p.m. at Home Street Mennonite Church, 318 Home St, Winnipeg. If friends so desire donations may be made to Union Gospel Mission Charis Centre (Women’s Addiction Centre), PO Box 1073; Stn. Main; Wpg., MB R3C 2X4 or to Canadian Foodgrains Bank, 400 – 280 Smith Street; Winnipeg, MB R3C 1K2