Obituary of Helen Enns

The Celebration of Life service for Helen Enns will be held on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB, with a viewing one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Heritage Cemetery, Steinbach, MB. 

I, Helen Enns, was born on July 14, 1922, in Burwalde, Russia, to Martin and Maria (Schellenberg) Enns. Because of the unrest in Russia, our parents saw no future there. My parents, my brother Cornie and I moved to Canada. We arrived in the friendly and welcoming country of Canada in November 1926.

Our first winter was spent in Herbert, Saskatchewan. From there we moved to Cabri, Saskatchewan together with seven other Mennonite immigrating families. We settled on a plot of land, built our homes and yards and our fathers all became farmers. Farming life wasn’t easy with droughts and hailstorms taking their tolls on the crops.

During my growing up years our church services were made up of the Mennonite families that were living in the area. They were simple services conducted by our fathers. During the course of the years, many different ministers came to serve us. At one such meeting the ministers spoke on Matthew 11:28; this verse became important to me and I surrendered my life to Christ. In 1941, I followed the Lord in baptism and joined the Swift Current MB Church. 

We were a young family when our mother passed away in 1939, leaving myself, Cornie, Jac, George, Nettie and John in the care of our father. After much prayer, the Lord graciously answered our prayers and provided us with another loving mother. Dad married a widow, Elizabeth Bergen who had one daughter Elizabeth. We as a family gained a mother and a sister!

As the years went by our parents were concerned about the spiritual welfare of the young people and so the little community dispersed. In 1945, our family moved to Steinbach, Manitoba. Here we had many opportunities to be involved in church activities and gain many new friends.

I spent many years working in a factory and later was a store clerk at Robinsons for 19 years until my retirement. The Lord has showered me with many blessings.

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Helen will be missed dearly by her sister Nettie Friesen, sister-in-law Agatha Enns and many nieces and nephews.

Helen was predeceased by her siblings and their spouses: Cornelius, Elizabeth (Betty), Jac, George, and John, siblings-in-law Kay, Kathy, Tena and Peter.

The Celebration of Life service for Helen Enns will be held on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB, with a viewing one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Heritage Cemetery, Steinbach, MB. 

As a family, we would like to thank the staff at both Cedarwood and Rest Haven for the years of care you so lovingly and gently gave to Helen. We also extend our appreciation to Chaplain Aaron Barkman. Helen appreciated your visits. Your singing and prayer time were particularly meaningful to her.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Helen to Mennonite Central Committee.