Anne Warkentin

Anne Warkentin (nee Dyck) was born in the Rural Municipality of Stanley, Manitoba on September 2, 1926.  She passed away at Boundary Trails Health Centre on July 15th. She was predeceased by her husband, John Warkentin, and her parents, Isbrand and Justina Dyck. She is survived by her children,  Bonnie Warkentine, Rick Warkentine (Trisha) and Darlene Klassen (Ray Friesen); grandchildren Vanessa Groening (Trevor), Sean Warkentine, Robyn Loutchan (Kyle), Jenna Nestrovich and Kara Klassen; great-grandchildren Claira Loutchan, Hallie Loutchan, Dante Nestrovich, Bria Groening and Abby Loutchan; siblings Tina Gietz, John Dyck (Katherine), and Helen Dyck. 

Her early childhood was spent in the Cartwright District and in the town of Holmfield. At age twelve, her family moved back to the village of Osterwick, where her parents came from.  Anne always spoke fondly of her time in the village and of the friends she made there.  When Anne was fifteen, her mother contracted encephalitis and never recovered mentally. The care of baby Helen became a family affair. The family also cared for their mother at home for five years after which she was placed in Selkirk Mental Health Institute. Sometime after that the family moved to Winnipeg to be closer to her. 

Anne enrolled in an L.P.N. course and did her practicum in St. Rose.  From Anne’s writings, “It was during that time I met the man of my dreams. Tall, dark, handsome Johnnie. I was home from St. Rose having a few days off, and he happened to be at our place. My dad was in the habit of picking up strays and inviting them over. Our home was a come and go place for friends or strangers. Johnnie just happened to be in Winnipeg taking flying lessons and possibly needed a place to stay.” They began to correspond and eventually married.  

Anne and John raised their three children on a farm in the Glencross District, south of Morden. Farm life was labour intense but Anne discovered joy in gardening and developed beautiful gardens.  The gardens on the farm included vegetables, flowers and fruit bearing plants and trees.  Anne and John left the farm for an acreage just north of Morden where Anne operated a greenhouse for a number of years.  After moving to Morden, her garden on Tulip Street was her pride and joy.

Anne loved her family intensely and was happiest when everyone was gathered around her table for a family meal. Her faith sustained her throughout her life and she and John instilled their faith in God in their family.  We, her family, have been blessed to know her, to be cared for and to be loved by her. We are honoured to call her “Mother”, “Grandma” and “Grammy” (great grandmother). She is missed.

We are grateful to the staff at Boundary Trails Health Centre and to Mom’s Homecare providers for their care of Mom. Thank you also to the residents at The Garden Courtyard for their kindnesses to Mom especially during the past two years.  Special thanks to Helen McAfee who visited Mom daily, Ruth Burton, Grace Young and Pastor Weldon Yeo.

We thank all who have prayed, sent words of encouragement, kept vigil with us, and comforted us with visits, telephone calls, email correspondence, gifts of food and flowers. Thank you for being here today to celebrate Mom’s life with us. Your support means so much to us.

The Warkentine Family