Funeral For: Verna Hiebert nee Bergen
Funeral Date: November 21, 2024
Verna Hiebert nee Bergen, 100, of Winkler passed away Thursday, November 7th at Tabor Home. She is survived by 1 daughter, 3 sons, and their families. She was predeceased by her husband Abram W. Hiebert.
A memorial service for Verna Hiebert nee Bergen will be held Thursday, 11am at Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church with burial prior to the service.
Donations may be made to Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
Arrangements by Wiebe Funeral Home, Winkler.
Mrs. Verna (Bergen) Hiebert, seven months over 100 and from Morden, MB, passed away on November 7, 2024. Her strength had gradually declined in the past few years. In recent years, Verna had lived at Tabor Home in Morden. Earlier, she served as the wife of a Mennonite pastor and as a nurse, co-manager of a thrift store and pastoral visitor.
For over 25 years, Verna assisted her husband, Rev. Abe W. Hiebert, as he served at the Bergthaler Mennonite Church in Steinbach, MB; Zion Mennonite Church in Swift Current, SK; Homewood Mennonite Church in Carman, MB; Bergthaler Mennonite Church, Morden, MB; and as interim pastor at the Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Winkler, MB. After Abe retired, Verna and he served as co-managers of the Mennonite Central Committee Thrift Store in Winker. Later they worked as pastoral care visitors in hospitals in Winnipeg and Winkler.
Verna was born in 1924 in Shoenthal-Altona, MB, to John D. and Katherine (Dueck) Bergen. She grew up on a farm where she helped milk cows, weed beets and performed other farm tasks. She graduated in 1952 with a licensed practical nurse diploma at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg after which she held various nursing positions including at Bethesda Hospital in Steinbach, MB; Tuxedo Villa Personal Care Home in Winnipeg, MB; Swift Current General Hospital, Swift Current, SK; and Boyne Senior Home in Carman, MB.
Verna is survived by four children: Murray (wife Linda Gibson), Robert (wife Heather Bruce), Karen and Merlin. Her surviving seven grandchildren: Ann (husband Israel Tejeda) and Jonathan (wife Laura Kennedy) (Murray’s and Linda’s children); Lynley (husband Riley Box) and Arin (husband Ryan McMaster) (Robert’s and Heather’s children); Trevor (wife Shanley Peters), Trenton (wife Rita Mendoza) and Andrea (husband Matt Duda) (Karen’s children); and Dale Cadott, Jeffrey Landry and Jennifer Collette (husband Richard Collette) (Merlin and Kelly’s children).
Verna’s other survivors include 15 great-grandchildren: Nicholas and Samuel (children of Ann and Israel); Logan and Sophie (children of Jonathan and Laura); Isla, Harvey and Vera (children of Lynley and Riley); Owen and Chloe (children of Trevor and Shanley); Jaden and Olivia (children of Trenton and Rita); Lukas and Brooklyn (children of Andrea and Matt); and Violet and Lily (daughters of Jennifer and Richard). Verna is survived by two sisters, Lorraine Toews and Marlene Hiebert.
Verna was preceded in death by her husband Abe and daughter-in-law Kelly Hiebert.
Verna’s family offers all the Tabor Home staff their deepest appreciation for all the love and care they provided her in final years. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Canada Foodgrains Bank, P.O. Box 767, Winnipeg, MB.