SUSAN E. HILDEBRANDT

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SUSAN E. HILDEBRANDT

1927 – 2024

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at the Blumenort Mennonite Church in Rosetown, MB 16 km south of Plum Coulee.

It is with sadness that we, as the extended family, announce the peaceful passing of Susan Hildebrandt, age 96 on Saturday, February 10, 2024, at Boundary Trails Health Centre. We can also rejoice in her stated wish to “go home”.

Susan was predeceased by her parents, Heinrich P. and Anna Hildebrandt along with 11 siblings and their spouses. She will be lovingly remembered by her remaining sister Eva and her many nieces, nephews and their families.

Susanna (Susan) was born February 24, 1927, in Blumenort south, near Gretna, MB. She led a full and vibrant life! She attended the Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna and graduated from high school in 1947. She had her heart set on teaching and that led her to begin a teaching career in the Gretna/Altona area. Susan felt that she should continue her education, so she moved to Winnipeg after a few years and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree. Susan enjoyed those learning years at the University. She continued her teaching career and attended evening classes in order to obtain her Bachelor of Education degree. Both Luxton School and Laura Secord School gave her much enjoyment as she often commented that the Grade 5 classes were never boring. During her time in Winnipeg, she and her friend Anne Thiessen shared a home for many years. Susan and Anne often entertained, and they opened their home to many friends and relatives passing through the Winnipeg area. Susan involved herself in activities such as the handbell choir, church events, singing in choirs, retreats, dinner activities with friends, MCI alumni, Manitoba Teachers’ Society events, her bowling league and volunteering at the MCC Thrift Store and Ten Thousand Villages. These were some of the organized events that kept her social calendar full. She loved to assist in organizing family gatherings as she truly enjoyed spending time with her siblings and her nieces and nephews. Her church life was very important to her. She was baptized upon the confession of her faith in the Sommerfelder Church. She became a member in the Blumenort Mennonite Church next door to her parental village home. Later, while living in Winnipeg, she asked to become a member of the Sargent Avenue Mennonite Church which she attended faithfully. In her written testimonial dated April 10, 1973, she wrote, “My life has been such an ordinary life. When I think of what Christ has done for me in spite of my failings and shortcomings, I cannot help but be grateful for a Saviour who sought me and would not let me go until I committed my life to Him.” She returned to attend the Blumenort Mennonite Church at Rosetown when she moved back to Winkler. Travelling was a great passion for Susan. She often commented, “It was still the best way to learn about another culture, people and geography.” She travelled to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Orient, Mexico and she toured Canada from coast to coast. Northern Manitoba and the Northwest Territories were still on her wish list. Susan loved her family and was close to many. She assisted in many ways, and she prayed for every one of her family and could name them all by name. She had a gift for making new members in the family feel welcome and she demonstrated genuine interest in some of her younger great-great-nieces and nephews who had the opportunity to share a relationship with her. These newer family additions were very important to her and she welcomed them into the Hildebrandt family by sending cards signed in her beautiful cursive writing. We will miss her and we are looking forward to that Great Reunion.

Wiebe Funeral Home, Winkler

In care of arrangements

wiebefuneralhomes.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 09, 2024, Mar 09, 2024