Obituary of Martha Plett

The funeral service will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB., with viewing one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at the Blumenort Community Church Cemetery, Blumenort, MB. 

Martha Plett, age 94, of Steinbach, Manitoba, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at Bethesda Regional Health Centre, one day after her 94^th birthday.

She is survived by one son Brian (Liz), four daughters: Carol Kehler, Valerie (Wes Konrad), Irene Plett, and Marilyn (Jeff Reimer), 15 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren, she is also survived by three sisters and one brother.

She was predeceased by her husband Frank, one son Douglas in infancy, one son-in-law Jim Kehler, one great-granddaughter Gracie-Lynn Dyck, four brothers and five sisters.

Mom was born on June 7^th, 1928, in Steinbach, Manitoba, to Herman and Karoline (Thiessen) Schalla.  She was the seventh of 14 children. She was baptized as an infant into the Lutheran Church.

Mom worked a number of jobs to help support her family before she met Dad. She cleaned houses for 25 cents a day and hoed beets in the field.

Mom met Dad at a barn dance, and they were married on October 21, 1949, and enjoyed 69 years of marriage.

At the beginning of their married life, Dad worked road construction, so they would pack up Brian and Carol in a camper trailer and happily followed him all over Manitoba.

In March of 1954, Mom gave birth to their third child Douglas, who passed away 17 hours later. Mom always said, “God knew we didn’t have room for anymore kids in our small trailer.”

Mom and Dad bought the family farm in 1963 for $10,000 and did not know if they would ever be able to pay it off. On the farm they added three more children to their family – Val, Irene and Marilyn. Mom worked alongside Dad to build up the family farm – helping him wherever needed, keeping house and bringing many meals to the field.

In 2003, Mom and Dad retired to Mitchell. While living there, Mom spent many hours volunteering at the Mennonite Museum, MCC Thrift Store, Mitchell Seniors Center, making New Years Cookies for the Steinbach Credit Union and delivering her baked good’s to businesses all over Steinbach.

Mom spent her last four years in Cedarwood and enjoyed the many friendships she made there. The family would like to thank all of those who visited her (including countless window visits) during her time there.

The funeral service will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB., with viewing one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at the Blumenort Community Church Cemetery, Blumenort, MB. 

If friends so desire, donations in memory of Martha can be made to Soups On – 430 Third Street Steinbach, MB., R5G 0K5.