Three community leaders from Steinbach were laid to rest in June.

Last month, Steinbach lost Dr. Paul Peters, Anne Friesen, and Darrel Penner. 

Chris Goertzen is the former Mayor of Steinbach, who knew each of these three individuals. 

"It's always sad to lose people who have had so much influence on our community," shares Goertzen. "And who continued, some of them, to have a huge influence on what was going on and the growth of our community."

At the same time, Goertzen says we need to celebrate what these three individuals provided for the community, the leadership they gave, the influence they had, and the positive changes they helped to create in the city. 

"We have to be very grateful to them for that," he says. 

Dr. Paul Peters passed away on June 15th. Goertzen says through the course of his life, Dr. Peters was a very busy man. 

"He not only was a full-time physician, but he farmed. he worked as a volunteer with a number of organizations," adds Goertzen. "Church was very important to him. And really, by and large, community building was important to him."

Goertzen says Dr. Peters had such an influence on so many people, including himself, noting it was Dr. Peters who welcomed him into the world. 

"Probably half of Steinbach was born with his presence there," suggests Goertzen. 

He says Dr. Peters not only had a positive influence on the medical side of Steinbach, but the human side as well, giving his time to organizations like the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Mennonite Heritage Village. 

"He really had a strong influence and a positive influence on our city over many, many decades," notes Goertzen. "And he will be missed and is missed."

According to his obituary, Dr. Paul Peters was born in Blumenort on October 12, 1928. He received his high school diploma from Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna in 1947 and became a permit teacher in Silberfeld before moving to Winnipeg to begin studies at Canadian Mennonite Bible College. Dr. Peters graduated in 1951. 

During two years of further education at the University of Winnipeg he shared a job as an orderly at the Misericordia Hospital with several close friends which led to his interest in becoming a doctor. He graduated from the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Medicine in 1959. 

After completing his internship at the St. Boniface Hospital and a surgical residency, Dr. Peters moved to Steinbach, where he was a family doctor for nearly forty years. His obituary says that Dr. Peters was the kind of physician who went the extra mile for his patients often making house calls in the middle of the night. He offered straightforward and honest advice routinely dispensed with a dash of humour. 

It is said that Dr. Peters delivered hundreds of babies, performed hundreds of surgeries, and saw thousands of patients. 

He served as Chief of Staff at Bethesda Hospital and was also a Board Director for the Manitoba Medical Association. For 15 years he was a preceptor for medical students and with his colleagues planned and built a new medical clinic in Steinbach. He was awarded a senior membership in the Canadian Medical Association in recognition of his dedicated years of service and was a lifetime honorary member of The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba. In 2021 he was given the Physician Emeritus Award from the Southern Health region. Paul was on the board of Eden East Health Care services for eight years and did voluntary stints of medical service in Cambodia, Haiti, Paraguay, China, Thailand, and Bolivia.  He was also the health care advisor on the Steinbach Settlement Committee for new immigrants. 

According to his obituary, faith was very important to Dr. Peters, and he took on multiple responsibilities and roles at Grace Mennonite Church, where he and his wife Dorothy were active members for many decades. He served on the Board of Directors of Canadian Mennonite University for fifteen years, the Board of Moose Lake Mennonite Camp, and the Canadian Mennonite Central Committee Board.

Dr. Peters was also a Hanover School Division trustee for eight years and a board member for Steinbach Seniors Housing Incorporated for a decade. Dr. Peters and his wife were founding members of the Steinbach Garden Club.

Dr. Peters passed away on June 15, 2024, at the Holy Family Home in Winnipeg. 

Meanwhile, Anne Friesen passed away on June 5th.

Goertzen refers to Friesen as a tenacious person, noting that when something needed to get done, she got it done. 

"She had lots of advice and whether you wanted it or whether you didn't want it, she gave it to you," notes Goertzen. "And it was usually good advice."

Goertzen says that in addition to working in health care, Friesen also served politically.

"She really had a lot of influence on health care in our city," notes Goertzen. "And also, on the city in general, as a City Councillor and someone who had a lot of influence in a variety of places, where they volunteered as well."

According to her obituary, Friesen was born in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan on December 31st, 1935. Her family moved to Ontario when she was a young girl, and she completed her high school education at Eden High School and then entered nursing school in Hamilton. 

In 1957, she met Henry and then in 1958 they were married, eventually settling in Steinbach. They had three daughters together. 

In her obituary, her daughters say they learned early on that their mom was not a typical mom. They say that despite her busyness, she made sure they learned how to swim, and how to do household chores, and that she always had sound advice and a listening ear. She created traditions and instilled the values of looking out for others, doing their best, and living life with a positive attitude. Her daughters say they knew they mattered and were loved. 

Friesen worked at Bethesda Hospital, creating a legacy as a progressive nurse. She brought her knowledge into the community as a prenatal instructor, a First Aid instructor, a CPR instructor, and a health care aide instructor. She then moved into public health holding a variety of positions. Through her work, she became involved in several organizations such as Manitoba Heart and Stroke Foundation, Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses, St John's Ambulance, and the Canadian Nurses Foundation Board. She received numerous awards for her dedication to nursing.

According to her obituary, Friesen loved people. It says she could light up a room with her energy, enthusiasm, and care for others. Her volunteering at Mennonite Heritage Village and the library were particularly important to her. 

Her obituary says that her faith in God played an integral role in her life. She held a variety of roles within the Steinbach MB Church. 

Friesen passed away on June 5, 2024.

Meanwhile, the third community leader to pass away in June was Darrel Penner. He died on June 25, 2024. 

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