PETER ENNS

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PETER ENNS November 23, 1927 - March 24, 2015 Peter passed away peacefully in Winnipeg, MB at Donwood Manor Personal Care Home at the age of 87. He was born on November 23, 1927 in Georgstal, Ukraine to Peter and Anna (née Klassen) Enns. They moved to Schönenberg where Peter's father was taken on February 2, 1938. Separated from his family during the war, Peter and his mother and sisters were reunited and moved to Canada, arriving on January 12, 1948 and settling briefly in Alexander, Manitoba, before moving to Winnipeg in 1951. His loving wife Anne (née Spenst) followed him, passing away only four days after his death on March 28, 2015. Left to cherish his memory are his children, Sharon Enns (Rachel and Aaron), Herbert Enns (Mary Alison Slater-Enns), Bryan Enns (Eileen Ellis), Harvey and Carol Enns (née Derksen), eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and sisters Susie Rempel, Anne Woelk, and Helen (John) Penner. Peter was a thoughtful, insightful and perceptive, intelligent, kind and gracious man who loved his wife dearly, and his children as much. Peter was a loving and dedicated husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and brother. Upon arriving in Canada he suffered a stroke in 1951 and was treated by the renowned Winnipeg Neurosurgeon Dr. Dwight Parkinson. He moved to Winnipeg from Alexander to recover and convalesce. His first job was as a painter, offered to him by A.A. DeFehr at a time when he was still walking with a cane. This light work became his career. Music was the center of his life, singing in many choirs on most evenings and weekends when he wasn't working 12-hour days, supporting classical violin and piano lessons for his children, and taking them to Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra performances at the Auditorium in their earliest years. He was a devout member of the Gospel Light Russian Choir, part of a group who beamed shortwave radio broadcasts behind the Iron Curtain from high-altitude transmitters in Quito, Ecuador. He was gifted with an unusually deep bass voice, a voice that was a pleasure to listen to in conversation as much as in music. In his retirement years he met monthly for breakfasts with the Schönenberg Eight, eight men from the same Ukrainian village who - like Peter - lost their fathers in the revolutions of 1938. A Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 11:00 a.m. at McIvor Avenue Mennonite Brethren Church, 200 McIvor Avenue. Viewing will take place prior to the Funeral Service and a private interment will follow on Thursday. The family is exceedingly grateful for the loving spiritual and medical care provided by the staff at Donwood Manor Personal Care Home and the church community. For those who so desire, and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Donwood Manor in care of the Chaplaincy, the Therapeutic Recreation Program, and/or their Comfort Care Initiatives. http://www.donwoodmanor.org/ foundation_donation.html ANNE ENNS (née SPENST) April14, 1934 - March 28, 2015 Anne passed away peacefully in Winnipeg, MB at Donwood Manor Personal Care Home at the age of 80. She was born to Jacob and Margareta (née Huebert) Spenst on April 14, 1934 in Winnipeg. Her life was spent in North Kildonan, living in several houses on McKay Avenue with her family, and moving to a home on Cheriton Avenue that her father built for her and her husband in 1955. Her loving husband Peter Enns predeceased her by only four days, passing away on March 24, 2015. Left to cherish her memory are her children, Sharon Enns (Rachel and Aaron), Herbert Enns (Mary Alison Slater-Enns), Bryan Enns (Eileen Ellis), Harvey and Carol Enns (née Derksen), eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and sister Tina Wiens. Her sister Mariechen (Mary) Ediger, and her brother Jacob (Jack) predeceased her. Anne was a dedicated and loving wife, and active mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and sister. Anne dedicated her life to creating a loving and warm home caring for her husband and their four children. Extremely sensitive to colour and fashion, and forgoing the normal hand-me-down cycle, she often dressed her sons in matching colour coordinated clothes. On a trip to Vancouver in the late 1960s she chose bright orange shirts to make the boys easy to spot in crowds, and had her house painted a bold pink for at least a decade. Prior to full retirement, Anne worked as a sales clerk in women's clothing and was very successful in integrating ensembles for her customers. She loved to garden, and her landscaping projects were as sensitively conceived as her wardrobe. Together with her husband she created a wonderful oasis of trees and flowers in their backyard. She also loved to do handiwork and created many projects of knitting and needlepoint. She was fond of entertaining friends and family in her garden. Anne served on many committees at church and had a passion to care for grieving and needy friends by offering them her gifts of baking, cards and flowers. She was a thoughtful, warm, kind woman seeking to serve others with love and care. Many stories of her kindness and acceptance of others have emerged in recent days. Her sense of humour, perceptive assessment of character, and endearing personality were evidenced throughout her life and to her last days. In her last years at Donwood Manor she was distinct for always wearing sophisticated outfits with matching shoes and jewellery - brooches, earrings and rings. Anne organized the room that she and Peter shared with a wonderful array of photographs documenting her family life and with her favourite pictures. It was a convincing microcosm of their home. Colourful bouquets of flowers were as therapeutic to her as any medicine. A Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 11:00 a.m. at McIvor Avenue Mennonite Brethren Church, 200 McIvor Avenue. Viewing will take place prior to the Funeral Service and a private interment will follow on Thursday. The family is exceedingly grateful for the loving spiritual and medical care provided by the staff at Donwood Manor Personal Care Home and the church community. For those who so desire, and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Donwood Manor in care of the Chaplaincy, the Therapeutic Recreation Program, and/or their Comfort Care Initiatives. http://www.donwoodmanor.org/ foundation_donation.html

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 31, 2015