Erna Peters

Erna was born in the rural municipality of Medstead, Saskatchewan on October 30th 1932. Her parents were Robert and Margaret Liick; she was the second child of six; the only girl, with four younger brothers and one older. When she began to attend school, she was unable to speak English because her parents were immigrants from a German community in Poland. She had a sharp acumen and learned English quickly and then proceeded to teach the rest of her family the language. She was a talented, self-taught musician with multiple instrumental and vocal talents. At an early age she committed her life to Christ and was baptized in the Pentecostal faith. After high school, she attended Bible School for one year in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. After Bible school she lived at her parents’ home, while she worked in the Spiritwood Hospital’s laundry facility. Erna continued to work at the hospital until her marriage to John Poor in May of 1953. After they married, they acquired a farm and undertook the difficult task of farming in Northern Saskatchewan. She and her husband remained farmers until 1955, and in that time their first daughter, Rebecca was born. Erna and her husband struggled to generate viable income farming, and when given an opportunity to move to Williams Lake, B.C., John began to work in a relative’s sawmill. After a brief time in BC, Erna and her husband were able to purchase a home at Frost Creek, which was a rural area of Greater Williams Lake. They built a convenience store and gas station on their property, where they served their community for a number of years. At that time they also took in forestry workers as boarders at their home and Erna served as cook, provided laundry service, and dispensed spiritual advice. Erna always had great compassion for children, and joyfully served as a foster parent, to numerous disenfranchised children; many of which were babies. It was during these years that three more children were born into the family: the second was a daughter named Karen, the third a daughter named Maureen, and then her only son Randy. Erna was an avid gardener, and quite renowned in her community, for her lavish flower gardens. After the death of her husband John Poor in 1985, Erna lived in Burnaby for a brief time with her two youngest children. Following that she moved to Brazil and performed volunteer work with abandoned infants and children, with a Canadian-based evangelism team. Erna frequently found the climate in Brazil adverse, and for health reasons reluctantly chose to move back to British Columbia. It was at that time, that she moved into Sharon Village in Langley, where she lived for several years. In that time Erna was diagnosed with kidney cancer and after unsuccessful treatment, had one kidney removed. It was during those difficult years, that Erna was committed to prison ministries, where she was involved in music and fellowship ministry to inmates. When her brother Ozzie moved from Saskatoon to Abbotsford, she also moved to Abbotsford. There soon after, she met her second husband John Peters. Erna and John spent the early years traveling and then, as her second husband’s health began to slowly decline, she devoted her final years to assisting her husband. She often found the time to enjoy her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Erna was always good natured, even tempered, and good humored. She will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her. She was a small framed lady who has left a very large hole in our hearts. She leaves a legacy of servanthood and compassion. Her greatest desire was for everyone to possess the gift that Christ has offered freely for all to obtain.