Anne Giesbrecht

Anne Giesbrecht (nee Neufeld) of Altona, formerly of Bergfeld, was born June 29, 1935, to David and Helena Neufeld, in Hoffnungsfeld, near Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico. She was the youngest of the eight surviving siblings.

Our mom was a quick learner in school, and learning to read was, in her own words, “worth more than gold”. One of her favourite moments in her younger years was spending time with her father, reading the Sunday papers together.

Mom’s family experienced many hardships in Mexico. In 1955, her parents made the decision to move to Canada, taking along our mom and her sister Mary. They settled in the village of Reinland, Manitoba.

Shortly after their arrival, upon the confession of her faith, mom was baptized at the Old Colony Church in Chortitz. Then later, became a member of the Bergfeld EMMC. The difficulty of moving to a new country, learning a new language, and finding jobs. All these things drove her to a deeper relationship with her Heavenly Father and reading the Bible became her anchor.

It was through mom’s sister Mary that our parents met and were married on January 12th, 1963. They made their home on the farm in Bergfeld where they raised five children. They worked hard, side by side, for 44 years; milking cows, hauling bales, planting gardens, and raising chickens and pigs. Mom was also a devoted homemaker and took pride in cooking and baking for her family. She always spent time in God’s Word, drawing strength for the day. Having the resources from the farm, mom and dad were able to start their perogy business in 1985. This was a team effort. Mom prayed many blessings over her perogies and many lasting friendships were made over the years. Despite her busy days, she always made time to nurture her grandkids. Mom and dad moved to Altona in 2007, where they enjoyed retirement together until Dad’s passing in December of 2015. They were married almost 53 years.

Mom was a woman of deep faith and also a prayer warrior. Her example of love for her Heavenly Father has left a lasting legacy for her family. She had many spiritual gifts and sowed seeds of encouragement wherever she went. She knew how to connect personally with each member of her family.

We were blessed to have our mom for five more years after Dad’s passing. She struggled with various health issues over those years but continued to be grateful and praise God. Mom was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia on September 13th, 2020. She passed away peacefully on October 1st, with family at her bedside. Mom, we will miss you deeply; your unconditional love, encouraging words, and your daily prayers. What you have sown into your children will continue to grow.

Left to cherish her memories are her children Pete, wife Martha, Mike (Tanya and children Rebecca & Lewis), Melissa, and Jennifer (Pete); Debbie, husband Walter, Brittany (Eric and children Ryleigh & Lexi), Crystal (Tomo), and Cody (Leticia and children Cypress & Jasper); Teresa, husband Harold, Greg, and Garrett (Desiree and son Beckham); Randy, wife Jocelyn, William (Mackenzie), Zachary (Amanda), Matthew, and Caleb; Wendi, husband Richard, April (Yasu and daughter Anayumeko), Megan (fiancé Tracy), and Samuel. She is also survived by one sister, Mary.

We would like to thank the wonderful staff at the Altona Memorial Health Centre and for her caring home care attendants.

We are grateful for all the many prayers, words of encouragement, and gifts of food and flowers.

A private service was held at the Bergfeld EMM Church with interment at the Church Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Anne may be made to The Gideons.