Helen Wiens

Helen Wiens (Helena Leinich) was born in Kaisertal, Ukraine (USSR) on December 13, 1926, the eldest daughter of Jacob and Olga Leinich. She had a younger sister named Olga. In 1941, after Germany declared war on Russia, the German people were displaced; Helen’s father was taken away with all of the other men aged 16-65, and the women and children were moved to various places. While her mother and sister stayed behind, Helen went to Germany, in 1944.

Helen worked on a farm in Lachendorf, Germany, with the Drangmeister family, for about three years, before immigrating to Canada, with the help of her friend’s family, who sponsored her. She arrived in Oliver on July 1st, 1948, and started working in the fruit packing house the next day, even though she didn’t speak a single word of English. She also attended the Oliver Mennonite Church, along with her sponsors, and met many people who became friends.

She also met Henry Wiens, who was visiting his brother from Manitoba, and Henry and Helen got married a year later, on October 30, 1949. They spent the first several years of their married life on Henry’s family farm with his parents, in McCreary, Manitoba, where their first two children, Linda and Art, were born. Then, in 1955, they moved to Oliver, BC, where their youngest child, Elsa was born. In 1963 they bought an orchard in Oliver.

In 2001, they moved to Kelowna and then to Abbotsford in 2010, in order to be closer to family. There, Helen lived in Tabor Manor, and was very grateful for the many people who became her friends over the years.

She will be remembered for her deep faith, for generously opening her home and heart to friends and touring youth groups when they needed a place to stay for a night or a few months; for her lovely alto singing voice; her good cooking, and her sharp insight and sage advice. She will be greatly missed by her friends and family.

Helen is survived by her son, Art (June) and daughter, Elsa; son-in-law, Harry Peters; her grandchildren Daryll (Lori-Anne); Vincent (Laura); Annette (Nathan); Amanda (Trevor); Diana (Richard); Alison and Merlin. She is also survived by 11 great-grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, and her cousin Erica.

Helen was predeceased by her parents, Jacob and Olga Leinich; her husband, Henry; her daughter Linda; her sister, Olga; as well as cousins and brothers- and sisters-in-law.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mennonite Central Committee https://mcc.org/ or the Alzheimer’s Society. https://www.alz.org/

A visitation for Helen will be held Thursday, January 25, 2024 from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM at Woodlawn Funeral Home, 2310 Clearbrook Road, Abbotsford, BC V2T2X5. A memorial service will occur Friday, January 26, 2024 at 12:00 PM at Ebenezer Mennonite Church, 2051 Windsor Street, Abbotsford, BC V2T6L9.

Contributions in Helen's memory may be made to Mennonite Central Committee, https://mcc.org/donate; and Alzheimer’s Society, https://www.alz.org/.