Attached is the inside of the funeral home pamphlet showing Jake and Margaret with Linda's family at the time.

 

2012 05 30 Visitation was at Reid's Funeral Home.  On the tables were photographs of events during Jake and Margaret's life.  Many of the flowers were yellow and the family arrangement was grasses and bull rushes.  The line of visitors kept moving for three hours.  So many familiar faces.  Ruth Dwyer and her sister Sandra Mathies drove down from out East on behalf of their mother Helen (Schellenberg) Mathies who is in a retirement home in Vineland.  Their father Johnny Mathies was our first cousin. 

Cremation was to follow with burial at a later date.

 

2012 05 31 

The Memorial was at the Leamington United Mennonite Church.  Linda chose the music and the choir with an excellant director and pianist delivered them beautifully.  One song was really special.  We later found out they had only practiced that morning. 

Jake's son George read his dad's life story.  Jake and Margaret moved often.  His farming days included an early vegetable farm and then a tobacco farm.  Jake did many things for a living. He was a carpenter for a while, he purchased a back hoe and did sewer work for the town and he was also a welder.  He worked in various canning factories as a machine maintenance man.  If he couldn't fix it he would invent something to make it work.   

He was a member of a hunt club and often a group of them went north.  He and Margaret went up alone one time and he happened to shoot a moose.  They managed to home in their trunk.  Jake liked to tell stories and when he and Margaret purchased a trailer in the Florida Keys he had a whole new audience.  He loved fishing.  One day an octopus attached itself to the boat.  When he tried to remove it the octopus flipped itself into the boat and spread it's ink all over everything.  He could name every fish.  George told stories of boat mishaps and how Jake luckily was always able to fix it.  Jake & Marg would freeze the many fish they caught and bring them home to Canada in coolers.  This meant they had to be home in two days .. which was a long drive.  All the times they brought fish home they were never stopped at the  border.  George's wife Marlene read a beautiful poem. 

 

After the service we were served a wonderful luncheon in the gym.  The tables were decorated with tall young cattails in see-through containers filled with pebbles.  These were given to the guests later as they left. We learned that all the raisin breads were made by a 91 year old lady.  She does this for many occasions. 

 

Lunch was followed by 'Sharing' of stories ...... 

-  One younger fellow named Dennis who had worked with Jake in the canning factories told of how they rode to work together and appreciated how Jake had treated him like a Dad.  In the mornings when Jake picked him up he often wouldn't be ready.  Jake was always on time and got after him.  One particular morning Dennis had had a party, people were sleeping all over the house, empty bottles everywhere and Jake came in, walked right into his bedroom and said, "GET UP, I'M WAITING OUTSIDE."   

- Herm Dick recounted the time a group of young guys at Halloween were going to play a joke on Jake.  They all brought chain saws and started them up near his row of trees.  Jake let them carry on for a while and then he came out of the house shooting and scared them all away.  

- Ruth Dwyer's parents, cousins John & Helen Mathies,  had a trailer in the same campground in the Florida keys as Jake and Margaret and told of the many good times they had visiting there.

- There was a story of the hunters going on a jack rabbit hunt.  This was done by hunters walking in a V and scaring up the jack rabbits.  Jake saw a little cotton tail, snuck up on him, grabbed him and stuck him in his jacket.  When the hunters all sat down to rest, Jake announced, "Did you ever see a magician pull a rabbit out of his hat" .... reached into his jacket, pulled out the little cotton tail and let him go.

-  I read a letter son Dave sent emailed about the time when he was around 10 years old, he was sent to Uncle Jakes to hoe weeds.  The first thing Jake did was cut his hair.  Jake apparently thought he was a barber too because Jake's hair cutting was mentioned several times by others. 

-  There were stories of Jake's popcorn and his home made wine.  

 

After the luncheon brother Art, Marg, dau. Cheryl & I went to the Leamington Mennonite Home and visited sister Margaret.  She had just been given a bath.  She tried to open her eyes and concentrate. When Margaret talked to her she said, "Margaret" several times but that was it.  Art sang a song but there was no response.  The nurse liked it. Cheryl took a few photos and we said goodbye.  Sad, but there is already a lady been given Jake's portion of the room.

 

We were invited to drop in at George and Marlene's house for a drink after.  Ed & Linda were there as well as George's daughter Ashley, friend Dan and daughter Destiny.  George and Marlene shared their motorhome trip to California with us.  They had returned just a week before George's dad died so he was glad he had had some last visits with him.

 

We said our goodbyes and Art, Margaret & Cheryl were on their way back to London.

Funeral Pamphlet

  Toews, Margaret

91 years, passed away peacefully at the Leamington Mennonite Home on Sunday, September 30, 2012.

Beloved wife of the late Jacob Toews (May 28, 2012) for 70 years. Loving mother of Linda Regehr and husband Ed, George and wife Marlene.

Special Oma of Rosalind Regehr (Said), Tom Regehr (Krista), Heidi Cox (Leigh), Ashley Toews (Dan), George Rockwell, and proud great grandmother of 13 great grandchildren.

Survived by sister Louise Ross (Ron), brother Art Mathies (Margaret) sisters-in-law Annie Braun, Gertrude Toews and Mary Lou Mathies.

Predeceased by siblings Annie Krause (Bill), Bill Mathies, Harry Mathies.

Special Aunt to numerous nieces and nephews.

Visiting at the Reid Funeral Home & Reception Centre, 14 Russell Street, Leamington (519-326-2631) Wednesday 6-9 p.m. Memorial Service to celebrate Margaret’s life will be held at the Leamington United Mennonite Church, 78 Oak Street East, Leamington on Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 11 a.m. Memorial donations may be made by cheque to the Leamington Mennonite Home (Music Therapy Program) or to U.M.E.I. Family and friends are invited to share their words of comfort and remembrance at www.reidfuneralhome.ca

 

This obituary is protected by copyright by Reid Funeral Home.

 

This obituary is also archived at ObitsforLife.com 

http://reidleamington.frontrunnerpro.com/book-of-memories/1355035/Toews-Margaret/index.php

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May 1, 1921 - September 30, 2012 .. attached is an earlier photo of her family.

Sister Margaret was surrounded by her loving family and many wonderful friends.

- Oct. 3, Tuesday AM - There was a visitation at the Leamington Mennonite Home for her friends there.

- Oct. 4, Wednesday 6 - 9 PM - Visitation at Reid's Funeral Home. Lots of beautiful pink, lavender and white flowers.

- Oct. 5, Thursday 9:30 AM - A graveside service was held at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Her husband Jake's ashes were buried with Margaret. Six year old Greenly, a great-granddaughter, made some little paper hearts to drop in too. So cute. It was a beautiful morning.

- Oct. 5, Thursday 11:00 AM - Memorial was at the Oak St. Mennonite Church. After the benediction, son George read Margaret's life story, the minister played the piano and his wife sang, Linda accompanied a cousin playing a clarinet, lots of beautiful music which Margaret would have LOVED.

- After the service a wonderful lunch magically appeared in the church hall followed by sharing. I read a poem written by Margaret (attached), son George read a poem brother Art had sent to Margaret, we heard a beautiful soprano duet by Ed's dau. Rosalind and his brother's dau. Janice... and more.

So many familiar faces .. just wish I could remember all of their names.
.
Love, Louise

Source: Louise (Mathies) Ross

---------------------------------

Poem written by
Margaret (Mathies) Toews
for Canada’s 1967 Centennial celebration.

I was just a little immigrant,
my age was almost three,
and I’d like to tell you what Canada means to me.
We left a country so far away,
where they told my parents ‘tis wrong to pray.
We had many possessions, land, silver, and gold,
but what gaineth a man if he loses his soul?
“There is a land,” our ambassador said,
“where there is freedom of faith and even bread.”
For you see, we were hungry, frightened and worn,
having weathered a terrible revolutionary storm.
Our ambassador approached Prime Minister King
“to help us across, we have lost everything.”
The Prime Minister said, “Do you give me your word
that your people will payback every penny when earned?”
And with but a “word” we did immigrate,
escaping a country so full of violence and hate.
O CANADA! You’ve been good to me.
Tis truly a land of great opportunity.
I can sing and rejoice, in the church of my choice.
“Faith of my fathers, living still!”
in CANADA, on this CENTENNIAL.

By permission,
Signed, Margaret Mathies Toews

Source: Louise (Mathies) Ross