Robert Jacob Hiebert

Jacob Hiebert was born on March 19, 1928 in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Johann and Aganeta Hiebert. The language spoken at home was Low German, and so Yasch was the name by which he was known. It was not until later that he came to be called Bob by someone with whom he worked, and the name stuck. Still later, he legally added the name Robert. Bob grew up with three brothers (Johann [John], Gerhard [George], Victor) and two sisters (Katarina [Kay] and Violet).

During Bob’s earliest years, the Hiebert family lived on a farm in Killarney, Manitoba. The difficult years of the Great Depression forced a move to Fork River in 1932, to Winnipeg in 1933, and back to Fork River in 1934. Then in the spring of 1935, the family settled on the property where most of Bob’s earliest childhood memories were centred. It was a homestead five miles north of Fork River consisting of “160 acres of raw land,” as he described it, where they experienced “some real pioneering.” When they took possession, almost the entire property was under water from the spring run-off. They came with two horses pulling a wagon and two cows tied to the back of the wagon and found a dry place on a little poplar knoll to set up a borrowed tent. That summer, logs were floated across the Mossey River and skidded for about a mile to their home site where a house was constructed. The walls were plastered on the outside with a mixture of clay, straw, and water. This was to be their home for nine years. In 1944, that farm was sold and the family relocated to Starbuck, Manitoba.

In 1945 when he was 17, Bob moved with his parents and younger twin siblings, Victor and Violet, to British Columbia where they lived on a small farm. In the fall of 1948 at the age of 20, he returned to Manitoba and stayed in Winnipeg for the winter, working at various jobs.

In the early spring of 1949, he came back to BC and met the love of his life, Johanna Friesen, at a roller-skating rink in Sumas, Washington. She was living and working in Vancouver, and they began to date. Bob had been helping his parents on their farm in the Fraser Valley. In fall, however, he found work in Vancouver and his relationship with Jo continued to flourish. At first, they planned to get married in early 1950, but then thought they should act on the advice of an advertising slogan, “Why wait for spring, do it now.” Because they could not afford to take time off work to go away on a honeymoon, they decided to have the wedding on Christmas Day. It took place in the Arnold Mennonite Brethren Church. One of Jo’s former high school teachers performed the marriage ceremony and her father, Jacob, delivered a brief homily in which he talked about the importance of trusting in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. At that stage in his life, Bob did not consider himself to be a Christian, but he appreciated and respected his father-in-law for his forthrightness.

In the spring of 1950, Bob and Jo left Vancouver to do seasonal work 225 miles up the coast in Namu at a fish cannery. That fall, Jo’s parents asked if she and Bob would move onto their small dairy farm in Arnold, BC while they and Jo’s younger siblings went to the BC interior where her father had accepted a teaching position. The young couple were happy to help out Jo’s family in this fashion during that school year.

In the summer of 1951, Bob went back to work in the cannery in Namu while Jo, who was pregnant, remained in the Fraser Valley. When Bob returned in the fall, he and Jo settled in Vancouver where their first child, Robert, was born on November 1. It was not long afterward that they followed through on the invitation to become committed followers of Jesus that had been extended to them at their wedding. Their lives were transformed and they embarked on a journey of faith and Christian service that characterized their lives from that point onward.

They moved from Vancouver to Bob’s parents’ farm in the Abbotsford area and their second child, Susan, was born on December 2, 1953. On September 19, 1955, Bob and Jo were baptized and became members of the East Aldergrove Mennonite Brethren Church where they made many friends, enjoyed wonderful fellowship, and served in various capacities over the years.

In 1956 when Jo was expecting their third child, Bob had an accident while working at a lumber yard in Abbotsford, shattering the bones in both feet. Many months of rehab followed, but the highlight of that season in their lives was the birth of Daniel on April 2, 1957. After Bob had recovered from his injuries, he and Jo were able to purchase a small acreage in the Abbotsford area where they engaged in mixed farming with dairy cattle, raspberries, and nursery stock. Bob also trained as a barber and ended up working in that business for 16 years, establishing a congenial partnership and lasting friendship with Henry Hooge.

Bob always loved working on the land and with cattle and often dreamed of going into farming full time. That dream became a reality in early 1974 when Bob and Jo teamed up with their friends Larry and Leona Woelk to buy a grain and beef cattle operation near the hamlet of New Norway, Alberta. Bob and Jo’s years there were ones that included great joy in forging life-long friendships and in fellowshipping and serving at Highland Park Evangelical Free Church. They also experienced heartache when, in 1975, their son Daniel lost his right leg below the knee in a farm accident. After several years of fruitful collaboration in this partnership, the Woelks decided to move on to other ventures, resulting in the sale of 960 acres of the 1440 acre property. Bob and Jo continued to farm the remaining 480 acres until 1986 when they sold that place and moved to a 15 acre hobby farm in the North Okanagan region of BC not far from Armstrong. Here they became part of a community of friendship, fellowship, and service associated with Armstrong Bible Chapel.

In the Fall of 2007, they sold the Armstrong property and moved to Abbotsford, first to a home on a city lot on Southern Drive, and then to a townhouse in the Panorama Ridge Estates community. In due course, they became members of Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church. Advancing years and associated health conditions meant that more support was needed for them, and so in the spring of 2019, they moved into an apartment in Primrose Gardens at Menno Place. On March 12, 2022, Bob suffered a stroke and was admitted to the Abbotsford Regional Hospital. There he rallied somewhat in the following weeks and was even able to celebrate his 94th birthday in the hospital with his beloved Jo and family. But a fall and surgery to repair a broken hip during Holy Week in the Easter season resulted in a downturn in his condition, and he passed into the presence of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the early morning of April 19.

Bob’s life was characterized by love for his family, enduring friendships, community involvement, and service in the church. He also delighted in the beauty of God’s creation and enjoyed camping, fishing, painting landscapes and wildlife, and travelling with Jo throughout Canada and beyond to places such as Alaska, Hawaii, Israel, and Greece.

Bob was predeceased by his parents, brothers John, George, and Victor, and sister Kay Rempel. He is lovingly remembered by his wife of 72 years, Johanna, sister Violet Sawatsky, children Robert (Karen), Susan Krause (Rick), and Daniel (Dorothea), six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and many other relatives and friends. May he rest in peace as he awaits the resurrection.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those who wish to honour the memory of Robert Jacob Hiebert consider making a donation to the Mennonite Central Committee’s “Ukraine emergency response” initiative: https://donate.mcccanada.ca/cause/ukraine-emergency-response