Mom was a simple woman who demanded little, but showed depth of character and Christ-like spirit in every circumstance. She was… Committed Most importantly, mom’s life was committed to Jesus Christ. She was committed to sharing Christ’s message of love with everyone she encountered. This she did without fail, in action and in word as a youth worker with Western Gospel Mission, teaching DVBS and Sunday School, with her family and their friends, just to name a few. Mom lived Jesus’s love in her daily interactions with those she met. Her favorite verse was Matthew 6:33 “…seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” Prayer was mom’s central daily discipline; something she did with love and a belief that her prayers made a difference in people’s lives. Her prayer lists literally filled scribblers and were often taped to the walls near places she worked, like over the sink in the kitchen. Another daily commitment of mom’s was letter-writing, which she did from where ever she lived and worked. We have received so many cards from the people who mom touched through her writing. It enriches our lives to know how she enriched the lives of others in this way. Mom was also committed to her parents, Peter and Maria Harms, and her siblings, for whom she cared selflessly from a very young age. She nannied many a niece and nephew and helped to raise her own youngest siblings when their mother died. Mom was one of 12 siblings: Peter, John, Mary and Jessie, who are now celebrating in heaven with mom. And Henry, Cornie, David, Anne, Netty, Helen and Rose who are here, with us. Mom was afraid of travel – it made her too nervous, especially in airplanes. But her commitment to her husband, Ben D. Reimer, and his zeal for missions helped her set aside her fears in order to spend time in Kansas, Paraguay, British Columbia and Southern Ontario among many other destinations, pastoring churches and bringing the message of Jesus to others. Commitment to immediate family was mom’s life-long involvement. When she married dad, she instantly inherited a house full of children and soon the three of us youngest would arrive. Whether children were marrying and moving away or staying close to home, mom fed us, loved us, encouraged us, prayed for us, and wanted every minute she could have with her children and grandchildren. Throughout the years, mom visited the MCC Thrift store to get enough supplies to sew hundreds of blankets that would be donated and braid rugs, which she would sell for a few dollars, in order to donate the money back to MCC. Even when mom’s eyesight and finger-strength began to deteriorate, mom kept plugging away so that those less fortunate would have blankets to keep warm. Courageous Helping to rescue her little siblings from a raging bull just outside her house on the farm hinted toward a resourceful courage mom would draw on throughout her life. The Harms family was not a wealthy one, and mom often endured humiliation at the hands of less thoughtful students who poked fun at her or her siblings. While quitting school after grade six to begin a life of work must have taken courage, it took more courage, years later to go back to Bible School. Studies did not come easily for mom, but she was determined to stick with it until she had the training she needed to become a missionary. When dad, significantly older than she, came to ask her to marry him – a man who had been her teacher at SBC, and to take on parenting his younger children, it took courage to say yes. Mom showed courage throughout her marriage, stepping into a very difficult and complex situation, where she parented, loved and prayed for the remainder of her years. Dad’s children: Peter, Doreen, Bernice, Gordon, Maryrose, Ruth, Steve, and Karen made mom an instant mother at the moment of marriage. Soon Cheryl, Paul and Mark would follow. And by now, there are more than 20 grandchildren and almost 40 great grandchildren. Marrying dad also meant taking on the public life of a minister’s and evangelist’s wife, when mom was really a quiet, shy person – even a private person. Mom developed a quiet and supportive way of seeing to the needs of dad and all the guests who visited our home throughout the week and especially on Sundays. When Cheryl’s husband, Greg died, mom stepped in as a second mom to “Little Greg” while Cheryl was working to earn a living. She had done the same thing previously, when she cared for Stefan, while Ruth was studying to become a nurse. And when Paul and Naomi brought another four kids to Steinbach, mom threw open her doors and invited those kids in for sleepovers, meals, crafts and home schooling. To handle even three or four at a time, when she was in her seventies, took courage. We sometimes accused dad of wearing “rose-coloured glasses”, that he took a light view of events around him as a result. In other words, it allowed him to ignore some of the things he didn’t wish to see or, in a nicer way, it allowed him to see the “cup half full”. Mom took her glasses off. When she felt badly or sad or hurt, she said so and often wondered about how she should respond. She went so far as to attempt to confront others, sometimes in person and often through writing. This definitely took courage and the results were powerful. Mom may have required some of her strongest courage to deal with the loneliness she experienced after dad died. Living alone, she longed for the company of her husband and children. Having knee-replacement surgery on both knees also meant less mobility for mom, so she depended more on visits to her home, from family. Mom was not a complainer, even in pain or in loneliness. She had the courage to say “thank you” or notice what we were wearing or wish everyone well in all circumstances. Caring Mom / Margaret / Auntie Margaret loved unselfishly, without expecting anything in return. She did this in so many ways – mostly in quiet and publicly unnoticed ways. When mom encountered rude behavior, she responded with forgiveness and too often took the blame, somehow, on herself. She was a woman who cared deeply for others and for others’ souls, and her actions showed her care for others through a loving and forgiving spirit. On birthdays, everybody got gifts, sometimes months before their birthday – sometimes for the third time that year. If we brought along an unexpected guest at Christmas, they were presented with a hastily wrapped gift, placed under the tree by mom. No one should feel left out in mom’s hospitality. And there was always room for another plate or five plates at the table without a minutes notice. We never felt badly for bringing home tons of friends. Tiny, simple routines betrayed mom’s love of sweets. Dessert, for example, was on the table much before the end of the meal, for the kids especially. And this didn’t change. Candies, gummy worms, chocolate bars or peeled peanuts for the grandchildren were always available. When Miriam, Ana, or Augusta cleaned mom’s cupboards, there would often be a twoonie, as well. It was most disappointing to mom in her final two years that she was unable to host us properly in her tiny room at the Rest Haven. Mom loved to draw and to paint and to tell stories. These were some of the ways through which mom could demonstrate her care for others. Mom would gather children around her to draw pictures of the stories she would tell. She is known far and wide as a story-teller, and some of her paintings now hang in the homes and hallways of places mom has visited. For years, when she was too tired to write out stories, she would dictate to Mark and together they would publish a Christmas story in the Carillon News. In everything she did, mom showed caring to others and wanted them to know that they mattered. Mom died peacefully in the arms of Cheryl on December 8. We are so grateful that she gets to spend Christmas, her favorite time of year,