Jake Martens

On the evening of Monday, February 19th, Jake Martens passes away peacefully into the presence of his Lord and Saviour at the age of 86. Jake was born in Mariental, Ukraine, the 2nd oldest son of Jacob and Anna Martens. Together with his 3 brothers and 1 sister, the family immigrated to Canada in March of 1948 and are celebrating 70 years of freedom this year.

Beginning in 1967, he and his brother Bill built a successful lumber business in Richmond, Jakes Lumber Sales, and were in business for 26 years. Jake was known as a man of integrity and a man of strong encouraging faith.

He loved his family, always taking an interest in their lives and what they were involved in. He enjoyed many wonderful years of fellowship with family & friends and waterskiing at Silvermere Lake, along with many enjoyable golfing trips.

Over the years, Jake volunteered in many capacities in the church. His true passion was serving the Lord but especially over the past 20 years where he devoted his retirement years to feeding the hungry by volunteering for the Fraser Valley Gleaners.

He is survived by and will be dearly missed by his wife of 61 years, Mary, his 3 children, Rod (Cheryl), Dean, Carmen (Harry), his grandchildren, Kyle, Tyler (Julia), Whitney (Ben), Cole, Jacob, Kyla, Jolie, and great grandson Little Jake. He is leaving them all with a great legacy of faith and trust in God.

The family would like to thank the many wonderful, compassionate Doctors & Nurses at ARH for their care of Jake (Dad) for 5+ weeks.

A memorial service will be held Monday, February 26th at 1pm at Northview Community Church – 32040 Downes Road, Abbotsford. Flowers gratefully declined, but donations may be made to Fraser Valley Gleaners in Jake’s honor.