Obituary of Milton Toews
(Alvin) Milton Toews was born to Minister Isaac and Helen Bartel Toews, thirty minutes before midnight on Dec. 31, 1930, at the farm his parents homesteaded two miles North of what is now the town of Linden, Alberta. He passed away at the Jubilee Care Home, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on February 15, 2020 after a long, gradual decline, having reached the age of eighty nine years. We rejoice that his time to go meet his Lord and be
reunited with his beloved Margie has finally come.
He spoke fondly and often of his growing up years, with his six brothers and two sisters, of which he was the second to youngest, the middle of “the three little boys”. He received his nine years of schooling in the two room Antler school, learning early on that speaking his native low German was not acceptable. He quickly picked up the English language, earning a provincial award by seventh grade for his proficiency. It inspired a love of
words and their usage that he carried with him through life, and which was a tremendous asset when it came to helping our Mother edit her writings during her career.
He felt the call of God at a young age and was converted and became a member of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite at Linden. He cherished and upheld the Church all his life, and was an active part of it wherever he was called to be. He served a number of years on the Publication Board, mentored youth groups, and often “could not help but speak of the things which he had seen and heard” of what the Lord had done for him.
As a young man he worked for Bert Baerg at Linden. He and Margaret Penner, daughter of Min. John M. and Helen Penner, were married on August 10, 1952 in Greenland MB. On their way from Manitoba to their Alberta home after their wedding, they talked about wanting their home to be a place for the wayfaring man, and that prayer was fulfilled. Many people passed through it, and together they touched many lives. They made their home in Linden for the first few years where Dad was post master for awhile and then plant manager for Carl Isaac at Linden Machine Works, and farmed their twenty acres. They were blessed with six children and fostered and cared for many more. In 1969 they moved to a chicken farm on Majuba Hill by Yarrow, BC, becoming a part of the Abbotsford Congregation. The people there became their people, a bond that has remained strong with the passing of time. In 1977 Dad and Mom and their family moved to the Neilburg, Saskatchewan area, where Dad and the boys got into grain farming, and later metal fabricating, oilfield equipment manufacturing. Dad and Mom returned to Abbotsford in 1989, where he became a Realtor, until 1997 when they moved back to Neilburg.
Mom passed away in 2010, leaving Dad lonely, but still courageous. He was able to carry on for awhile at home but it soon became evident that his mind was failing and he would benefit from full time care. He was able to enter Jubilee Home in Lloydminster in 2012, where he received excellent, loving care until his passing.
Dad was blessed with an optimistic nature, coupled with an unwavering love for, and faith in God. He met life’s challenges and reversals with grace and patience, and the certainty that, in his own oft repeated words, “things are probably working out about the way they ought to”. He was undaunted by the “vicissitudes of life” (his phrase) and grasped opportunities along the way, among them welder, farmer, inventor, World Book salesman, nursing home administrator, land developer, even gold mining, whatever it took to provide for his family.
However, his greatest calling and the one that defined his success was that of being a husband and Dad. He loved Mom and us children deeply and was not shy of expressing it. We all knew we could go to him with whatever was troubling us and he would do his best to fix it, whether it was a broken toy or a broken relationship. He exemplified the love and Fatherhood of God to us in the truest sense.
He leaves behind his six children, Randy and Darlene Toews, Abbotsford, BC, Don and Donna Toews, Center, CO, Geneva and Doug Boehs, Helena, OK, Andre Kuepfer, Eileen and Wes Schmidt, Bernie and Angela Toews, all of Neilburg SK, 23 grandchildren, 38 great grandchildren, two brothers, Norman of Montezuma KS, and Gladwin and Luanna of Linden, AB, two sisters-in-law, Marie, Mrs. Dan Toews of Lloydminster, SK and Jane Hegi of Calgary,
AB, one sister-in-law, Florence Ensz of Grant NB and a foster son, Chuck Lee of Saskatoon, SK. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret, a foster daughter, Madeline Laliberti, his parents, six of his siblings and a number of brother and sister-in-laws.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Milton
Toews 1930 2020..
Death notice for the town of: Linden, Province: Alberta