Obituary of Abram Friesen

B I O G R A P H Y FRIESEN: Abram M. Friesen passed away in the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre, Lloydminster, Alberta on Monday, March 7, 2005 at the age of 86 years. Abram is survived by: his loving wife Maria; nine children: Ed and his wife Anne Friesen of Grande Prairie; Ernest and his wife Sue Friesen of Lethbridge; Violet and her husband Peter Derksen of Cranbrook, BC; Richard and his wife Irma Friesen of Grande Prairie; Bob and his wife Bev Friesen of Calgary; June and her husband Nick Dyck of Blue Sky, AB; Cal and his wife Marian Friesen of Lloydminster; Marti and her husband Blaire Rustulka of Edmonton; Judith Brettle of Leduc; twenty-four grandchildren; twenty-six great grandchildren; two great great grandchildren; two sisters Susan Peters and Justina Klassen as well as numerous nieces and nephews. The funeral for Abram was conducted from the Southridge Community Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Friday, March 11, 2005 at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Mike Morgan officiating. A eulogy was given by Ed Friesen and Violet Derksen. Special music was by the Giesbrecht Sisters. A video tribute “Angel Wings,” was presented. Hymns sung were "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," and "Softly & Tenderly," accompanied on the organ by Brad Berkan. Interment followed in the Lloydminster City Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy - Violet Derksen We are here to celebrate dad’s life. When he first left home to look for work he walked 40 miles in one day. The first place he came to, the woman gave him something to soak his feet in, fed him and gave him a place to sleep. He stayed there for several days; until he found work. Dad wasn’t very demonstrative and not much of a hugger until later years, but I always knew that he loved us. He always tried to be fair and treat everyone equally. Dad wanted to provide well for his family but didn’t let this stop him from spending time with his family. I remember picnics at Park Lake near Lethbridge and several trips to Waterton Park. And of course our many holiday trips to Swift Current, those couldn’t have been very relaxing for him traveling with six kids, but we seemed to go about twice a year. Dad could fix most anything and build most anything. I have been informed by my brothers that he built (among other things) a snow plow blade, plow shares, a land leveler and a hoist on a beet box. Dad had a great love for his grandchildren and would often walk the floor with an unhappy child. He paced a lot and put it to good use calming the babies. Mom and Dad supported Pete and I fully when we decided to adopt a child. When we came to their house with Sherry he held her and said there isn’t anything wrong with this child. I remember him saying this quite often about his grandchildren. His sign of affection and acceptance. He always enjoyed his grandchildren. I also remember he would come home from work for lunch, eat and often lie down on the floor and have a quick nap before going back to work. He faithfully drove the miles several times a week from Vauxhall to Taber to take us all to church. When he was Treasurer he made many extra trips for meetings as well. He also walked this 20 miles once as a church fundraiser. His faith was demonstrated in many ways; including driving loads of kids and luggage to camp Valaqua. At the time of Marti’s wedding we were all together and Dad was praying over our meal. He began to pray for each child when he broke down and wept for his children. These things taught us of his faith and his love. Eulogy by Ed Friesen Abe was born in Osler, Saskatchewan on May 8, 1918. He began his schooling in Carmal at the age of 7 years. Abe recalls his mother being sick much of the time and taking a street car in Saskatoon to go to the hospital to see her. She died when she was about 46 years old. Abe's Father remarried soon after and by the time Abe was 14 he was working at various farms doing the chores and general farm work. Abe heard about work in Southern Saskatchewan and took various trains to Schoenfeld to work for a farmer there. He met Maria Klassen here and married her on November 13, 1938. Peter Giesbrecht and Abe went north to look for land and Abe ended up working in a sawmill, and for brother George doing farm work. Abe moved to Swift Current and here he worked in various places like McIntyre (welding), the Horse Plant, and several farms in the area. By this time the family numbered eight, Maria and Abe, four sons and two daughters. In 1947, Abe went to Alberta to find work and in the fall Maria and the children followed him to Coaldale. Here he worked in Construction and welding. Abe built a house in Coaldale and this is where the youngest two, a son and a daughter were born. Abe's father came to live with them there, and in 1955 he passed away. They sold their home the next year, and after a short time moved to Vauxhall to a farm. Here he again worked as a welder as well as building a small farming operation. We also started to attended the Church in Taber where Abe did their books for a number of years. This is where the last daughter in their family joined us. The family began to grow as the children married bringing husbands and wives to our family. They again sold their place in Vauxhall and moved to Jasper where Abe spent the remainder of his working life welding for Parks Canada. Abe retired in 1978 and moved to Lloydminster and built a house there. They became quite involved in the Church and made many friends there. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Lloydminster. The family persuaded them to move to Lethbridge into a suite prepared for them in the basement of son Ernest and his wife Sue. Here they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1988. By 2005 they had been married almost 67 years. Dad suffered a stroke on March 6, 2004 and passed away on March 7, 2005, one years and a day later. Donations in memory of Abram may be made to the Southridge Remembrance Fund.