Leona Annie (Sawatsky) Janzen

Our mother was a vibrant force of nature, known for her distinctive belly laugh, sense of humour and keen interest in people and the world we live in. She was a great storyteller. She loved flowers, chocolate, driving, Harrison Lake, the idea of angels, a good joke, a great nap, politics and world events, and Erwin. She lived to raise her children, enjoy her grandchildren and great grandchildren and to help others. We will miss her random whistling, singing, and piano playing, her phone calls, phone messages and most of all, her love.

Born in Mullingar, Saskatchewan, on April 27, 1936 to Mary Harder and Peter Sawatsky, Mom spent her first years living in a sod house on the prairies with her parents and two older brothers. She spoke fondly of an early childhood full of joy, neighborhood parties, games and music. When Mom was five years old, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the family moved to the immigrant pioneer settlement of Yarrow, BC to be closer to Grandpa Peter’s family and to medical treatments. Sadly, our Grandma Mary Harder died when Mom was only seven. Eventually Grandpa Peter remarried a widow, Mary Braun, and three sisters and a brother were added to the household.

Leona’s elementary and secondary school years unfolded in the community of the Yarrow Mennonite Brethren church, a culture rich in singing and at the time, conservative rules. She met our father Erwin at the Sharon Mennonite High School in Yarrow when she was in her mid-teens. They married in 1956, and both were keen to move away from Yarrow and start their own family they could grow up with.

Before having children, Leona found employment in sales, selling shoes and later, telephones and telephone services for BC Telephone Company. She thoroughly enjoyed being in the workforce, as it enabled her to meet people from all walks of life and to feel useful.

Leona and Erwin’s first two children, Cheryl and Douglas, were born in Vancouver and the family lived in Coquitlam while Erwin finished his university education. In 1963, Erwin had an opportunity to teach in the northern BC community of Dawson Creek. This was a great adventure for the family to experience something new and exciting. Two more boys, David and Daniel, were born in the north. But in 1966, when Erwin’s father died rather suddenly, the family made the difficult decision to move back to the coast and take over the Janzen family farm. Erwin found a teaching job at Chilliwack Senior School. Leona stayed at home to take care of the four children until eventually she returned to the workforce, earning a real estate license, when the younger boys were in high school.

As a professional realtor, Mom sat on numerous governance committees over the years to enhance and improve how realtors do their jobs. For a number of years, she was very involved in the Ann Davis Transition Society and the Restorative Justice Society. Our parents often had people stay at their house for a few months when, for various reasons, they were “between homes.” A few times she welcomed young single moms who had nowhere else to go. She had great empathy for people who were “starting out and struggling to make ends meet.” Many times, in the course of her work, she would “help out” her clients by reducing the cost of her services or ensuring they had things like a decent stove and refrigerator to begin their journey of home ownership, often without their knowledge. She was viewed by other realtors and business people in the community as highly ethical, easy to work with, patient, and trustworthy.

Over the course of their life together, Leona and Erwin were charter members of three different churches. Mom was very active in the local Chilliwack/Sardis church as a Sunday school teacher and girls club group leader. She also started a number of neighborhood Bible study groups. While her beliefs were grounded in Christian teachings from her cultural background, Mom freely explored any and all other ideologies and theologies, and developed a buffet-style approach to her faith, integrating what most resonated with her. Our parents put family ahead of church, raised us to think for ourselves, and to be thankful for what we have been given.

In her mid-80’s, Mom had come to a universalist belief that God is Love, Sin is the absence of Love, and the fundamental teaching of Jesus is to love your neighbor as yourself, regardless of gender, nationality or class.

She loved us, her family, so much. One of our great sorrows was when our brother Daniel passed away from glioblastoma in 1990, at the age of 24, a loss Mom carried for the rest of her life.

We are so very grateful to have had Leona/Mom/Oma in our lives. Left to remember her are her husband Erwin Janzen, daughter Cheryl Janzen (Randolph Peters) and grandsons Joshua Peters (Maral), Gabriel Peters (Katherine), son Douglas Janzen (Diane) and granddaughters Lauren Nietzen (Brad), Catherine Unrau (Michael); son David Janzen (Barbara) and granddaughter Kaitlyn Janzen (Eric) and grandson Evan Janzen (Arielle); great-grandchildren Jonathan, Ella and Daniel plus extended family and friends.

The family would like thank Dr. Etienne Roux and pharmacist Rajesh Sharma who cared for Mom in her later years, the Cascade Court community and close friends who continued to stay in touch and call her when she lost her ability to text. The palliative care team at Abbotsford Regional Hospital were exceptionally supportive during Mom’s final days.

At Leona’s request, there will be no formal church funeral service. However, the family will be hosting a party at the Yarrow MB Church gymnasium on Saturday, August 1 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm, if you wish to stop by, share a story or laugh and enjoy some company remembering a remarkable, brilliant woman.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Leona’s memory to the Mennonite Central Committee.