Eva Penner

Obituary of Eva Penner

Eva Penner (Nee Plett) of Blumenort, passed away in her home with her daughters by her side on Friday, November 27, 2020 at the age of 89. She is survived by her loving husband Melvin, two daughters, one son and their families. She was predeceased by one daughter on September 8, 2020. She is also survived by 5 brothers, 3 sisters and their families.

Eva was born on October 7, 1931 in Blumenort, Manitoba. She was the oldest of 9 children in the Isaac and Augusta Plett family. When she was 6 years old her family moved to Landmark, half a mile from the Linden school where her parents started a homestead. At 14 years of age, at the end of grade 8, she stopped going to school to help her mother. Mom often said that she learned a lot about running a household from her mother during this time. She helped her mother until she was 19 and then she took a 3 year course at the Steinbach Bible College.  This was followed by a year of high school in which she completed Grade 11. After completing high school she went into 3 years of nurse’s training at the Grace Hospital in Winnipeg and she enjoyed it very much. As a young woman Mom aspired to be a missionary nurse. When Dad showed up at the nurse’s residence to take Mom out for a milkshake during her last year of nurse’s training, her life changed.  They discovered a mutual desire to serve in missions and one day start a family. Dad changed his plans to go to Bible School and go into missions in the states and Mom changed her plans to be a missionary nurse in the north. They both felt that God had brought them together and they were married on September 5, 1958. After they got married, Mom worked at Grace Hospital for a few months and then they moved to Steinbach where she started working at the Steinbach Hospital and Dad started Bible School. During this time their first daughter Beverly was born. When Dad finished his Bible School training they moved to Ridgewood where Dad taught school for several years and Mom worked part time at the hospital. Their second daughter Christine was born during their Ridgewood years. They later settled in Blumenort where their first son Dewayne joined the family. After many years in Blumenort they decided to embark on a 3 year adventure in northern Alberta where their youngest daughter Jocelyn was born. They returned to their home community of Blumenort where they resided for over 45 years. Mom was delighted to spend her final years living in an apartment at Oakview Manor where she enjoyed the fellowship of many long term friends from her church and community.

Mom was deeply devoted to her family. She loved her daughter in-law and son in-laws and derived great joy from her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also supported many children around the world and numerous charities throughout her life. Mom was quick to respond to the needs of others both locally and globally. She instilled in her children a love for giving and serving.  Mom was a wise and trusted confidante, listening for hours as others shared their struggles and hurts.  Many people also benefitted from Mom’s warm hospitality, enjoying homemade meals and in later years cookies and tea in the afternoon. There was always room for one more at her table and visits with friends and neighbors were never long enough. She was well known for her coconut marshmallows, cream pies and standing at the window waving goodbye until you were out of sight.

Mom was an avid reader. She read through the whole library at the Linden school when she was a child. She enjoyed reading books about the settling of Canada, the history of her forefathers and books about families. She left behind an extensive library of health and medical journals, faith based literature, biographies and fiction books. Mom had a lifelong passion for learning. As a child she wasn’t able to choose a favorite subject in school because she liked them all. As a teenager she took evening classes with her father at Steinbach Bible College which kindled an interest in pursuing further education. When she left home at the age of 19 she spent the next 7 years of her life investing in her education.  After her youngest child was born she took a refresher course, renewed her nursing license and worked at Bethesda Hospital for 17 years. She also taught the St John’s Ambulance Course at the Steinbach Bible College and taught Sunday School lessons at her church. Mom married an educator so she was able to share her love for books and learning with her husband throughout their married life. They also shared a love for music. When she was growing up Mom loved to play the guitar and sing. She sang in a quartet and in the choir. Later in life she also learned to play the harp. As a young man Dad played the accordion and was the church choir director after they were married. When they had a family they invested in piano lessons for their children and on special occasions took their children to symphony concerts. In retirement they enjoyed travelling around the world. They attended the Mennonite World Conference in Europe, visited missionaries in the jungles of Venezuela and attended the distribution of New Testament Bibles in the local dialect of a tribe in Papua New Guinea. The best vacation Mom had was in Israel because she walked on the path of Jesus and this meant everything to her.

Mom walked with God from her early childhood days to her sunset years. She was so thankful that God gave her Christian parents. As a young girl Mom says that she was always very sensitive to God. She took a course in child evangelism and learned to teach Sunday School to children. She started a children’s club at home in Landmark. Every Friday the children went to her house and she had a child evangelism class for them. She prayed in the morning and read her Bible in the evening. She would light a kerosene lantern and head up the staircase to her bedroom to read her Bible and pray before she fell asleep. When she was a young woman in nurse’s training she found an empty room in the hospital to pray to God before the day began. When she met and married Dad they actively served in the church for many years on both a part time and full time basis. She earnestly desired that every person that crossed her path, both near and far, would learn to commit their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. The verse that blessed Mom the most was John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” A few days before Mom passed away she found the strength to say, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

As Mom aged she often commented on what a happy life she had. When she was asked what she valued most she said, “I treasure my salvation the most in my life. I treasure my husband and my family. Those are the greatest treasures in my life.”  Mom’s life is a memory now but the impact of her loving legacy lives on. You are dearly loved Mom. We will hold you in our hearts forever.

A private family funeral service for Eva Penner will be held on Friday, December 4, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel with burial at Blumenort Community Church Cemetery. 

Share Your Memory of
Eva