Remembering Mom

Our family was so thankful for all the love and support from family and friends from around the world during our time of bereavement.

While on one hand it was sad to close this chapter of Mom’s life with us, the service reminded us of a deep sense of joy because we know that Mom is now in the presence of God. Our mother is experiencing peace and joy with family and friends who lived before her and who shared a faith in Christ!

God assures us in His Word that we too, committing ourselves to Christ, will someday see each other in heaven.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, 

I will come back and take you to be with me 

that you also may be where I am.  (John 14:3)

TRIBUTE

Lillian Louise Dyck touched so many of our lives in so many ways. She was a devoted wife to our father Peter for over 68 years, a mother of 3, grandmother of 4, great-grandmother of 6, sister, aunt, church member, an employee, and a friend to so many wonderful people whom God placed in her life.

 
EARLY YEARS

Lillian’s life began in Kitchener Ontario back on February 18, 1931. Mom was born to Nicholas and Louise Fehderau and was the oldest of four children. Lillian was a sister to her siblings Harold, Elenore and Rita.

 

Here we see a couple pictures of Mom around 2-3 years of age and then Mom around 7 years of age with all of her siblings most likely at Victoria Park where the family spent many Sunday afternoons.

 

 

The Fehderaus lived in the home at 154 Weber Street East in Kitchener.  This is where Mom was born and lived her single years until she married. Mom and all of her siblings were born at home, from oldest to the youngest, within 5 years to the day!

Mom shared many memories of her youth with us, such as her public-school years spent at Suddaby School, growing up in a musical household and memories of her daily routines.  For instance, after Mom had the household chores done on Saturday afternoons, she and her siblings hiked to the library, leaving to the music of the Metropolitan Opera on the radio and returning to it.

Usually at the end of the week the Fehderau kids could go to the front office and ask for the grab bag of candy for 5 cents at Smiles ‘n Chuckles on Weber & Cameron.  At night while lying in bed, Mom remembers hearing the men from the boiler room sing "You are My Sunshine" as they smelled boiled milk to make chocolates the next day.  Those were simpler days.

Mom first started earning money as a 13-year-old by wheeling purchases for customers to their home from the Kitchener Market.  Customers agreed to pay 10 cents for Mom and brother Harold to haul purchases using their wagon to anywhere in the city – and some of the deliveries were a fair distance away!  Mom remembers the two of them earning enough money to purchase their first war-time bike that had no chrome and came with leather handle grips.  At the end of 1944, Mom helped Mrs. Kleinschmidt doing housework for the mornings, getting meals ready and cleaning the house. 

Then in the summer of 1945, Mom worked for SG Smallwood Coil Windings that was located at the corner of Madison & King streets.  Her job was to wire terminals and seal the windings with hot wax.  Grandpa ended up getting Mom and Harold jobs at Schneiders in the egg grading department.  Here they worked by candlelight -- Mom graded the eggs as they went by on a conveyor belt, and she determined what the farmer would get paid when the order was complete.

It was at this time that Mom’s high school (KCI) offered a special commercial program, and she took the one-year course.  After the course, Mom got a secretarial job at Bank of Montreal on King & Queen streets where she was taught how to use the posting machine for current accounts and was often used as a translator for the numerous German people who came into the bank.

In the fall of 1947 at the age of 16 Mom started playing for the church choir when the need arose for a pianist. Thus started the days of playing in the church that would last over 50 years.

 

 

As we all know, the war ended in 1945 and it was time for the boys to return home.  When Mom was only 13, she remembers our father Peter Dyck walking by the old city hall in uniform and greeting her.  It was only a few years later when Mom took further interest in our Dad especially on church picnics, choir outings and drives in his truck.  This all led to their engagement in 1949 with Mom to be a bride at the young age of 19!

So Dad and Mom got married in 1950 on a beautiful day in September.  It’s likely that Dad and Mom’s wedding was one of the last big events at the old KMB Church building on Church Street.  Wedding pictures were taken throughout the day at the church and at Rockway Gardens.

 

 LATER YEARS

It didn’t take long for Mom’s new family to start growing. Along came Dianne in August of 1951. This young couple along with their first-born moved in with our Dad’s parents who now owned a home on Betzner Avenue in Kitchener. These were new-beginnings in many ways: Mom and family were the first to occupy the upstairs apartment on Betzner Avenue after Dianne was the first to be born in the new wing of K-W Hospital.

 

 

Two years later our parents purchased their first home on Brick Street behind the church.  Being close to church made it easy for Mom to go back to playing piano for the choir where Dad also sang.  Grandma Fehderau took care of Dianne while Mom and Dad were involved in church up until the time Randy was born in December 1955.  Dad sang in the bass section of the choir and Mom continued playing piano for Sunday evening services.  In those years our parents visited a lot with relatives and friends in each others’ homes.

 

Jamie was the third and last child to be born to our parents in April 1962 while they lived on Belleview Avenue, just before moving to Linton Place.  Judging from pictures of these early days, it was apparent that Mom enjoyed her role as wife and mother.  This was evident regardless of the years that passed and where the family resided.

Over the decades that followed, we not only grew with Mom at our side, but she also found her place in supporting the community around her.  In retrospect, Mom offered a wonderful example of Christian service particularly in church.  Mom was always ‘at the ready’ to accompany when needed, both on the piano and organ.  We remember this required countless hours of practice in addition to time during 50 years of church services. 

Mom also volunteered her services at other church events like Vacation Bible School (VBS) and in the community at the Mennonite Brethren Mission and Services’ (MBMS) head office.

 

As children we shared wonderful times at the cottage. In the late 1950’s Dad, along with 11 other men from the church, were interested in looking for land up north. Our parents wished for a place where, as a family, we could spend time together and interact with other families in a Christian community setting. After a period of searching different locations, Dad and the other men purchased property at Chesley Lake.

Birchcrest, was the name given to the property and soon became a place where we enjoyed friendships, Rook games, dessert at Chesley Lake Bible Camp, boat rides and sunsets.  Mom definitely made our time at the cottage special with her constant care of us and the cottage itself.

 

Words that come to mind when thinking of Mom include that of being "detailed" and "enduring".  In no time, it was proven that Mom had what it took to help Dad with the accounting for the 25 years he was in business.  Don’t forget, these were days when everything was done by hand and rudimentary calculators – computers were not on the market yet!  We remember many times when she was burning the midnight oil to balance the books – even when there was a discrepancy of only one penny.  Maybe another word for Mom would be "accurate" =)

Mom has always been a faithful support for her family through the years, and rarely was there a time when she was not able to help us in whatever way was needed – from supporting the many moves that Dianne and Jamie would make around the country and globe, to lending her accounting abilities and support to Randy as he established a local business.   

Regardless of where her immediate family happened to reside, Mom was always near the phone, ready to find out how life was going for us and lend words of encouragement when most needed.

Mom thoroughly enjoyed being a Grandma. She looked forward to every occasion where she could be with the grandchildren. Whether the grandchildren were visiting at their home or at the cottage or in Florida, she took great pleasure playing table games and making sure they felt welcome. Mom was always interested in catching up on what things were going on in the lives of each of her grandchildren.

Even over these last few months she was keeping tabs on what they were doing and encouraging them in their endeavors and offering her support in prayer. Mom’s commitment and love for each one of them was steadfast and enduring. As grandchildren married, Grandma enjoyed visits with each of the grandchildren and their spouses getting to know them as part of her extended family. Grandma delighted in her great-grandchildren as well. She would always enjoy their enthusiasm and energy with each visit.

Most importantly, Mom and Dad shared their faith in Christ with their children while we were living with them during our growing years, and as we established our lives in later years. Mom’s quiet-and-steady faith in God not only shaped her own life in so many wonderful ways but, without a doubt, influenced the lives of those around her. As her children, we knew that Mom held us in her prayers on a daily basis and we will miss that faithful prayerful support now that Mom has moved on.

God has blessed us over the past 91 years with this woman, Lillian L Dyck. And now our Heavenly Father takes pleasure in having Lillian join Him in her new eternal home.

POST SCRIPT

Personal memories of Mom shared at the funeral service:

It’s difficult to narrow down the influence my Mom has on me over the last 60 years.  Obviously, if I were to share all the influences she had on my life, it would take the entire hour that we have here today for the service.  So I decided to narrow down my memories of Mom to the most memorable one...

The memory I will always cherish is the fact that Mom was always willing to have a conversation with me – regardless of our age, topic or location.  It didn’t matter if our conversation was in the basement of the home we shared or over the phone when we lived in different countries, we were always able to talk freely.

In fact, many of these conversations were over Scrabble games we had over the decades. Regardless of where we were, there was always that look to each other that said, “ready for a Scrabble game?” and then the conversation would commence...

The conversations continued right up to the last number of years when we would talk weekly over the internet – me in Thailand and Mom in her St Jacobs apartment.  Admittedly, I am a ‘talker’ and often work things out via conversation as is the case with many members in my extended family.

Conversations with Mom would often last for hours and always contained an honest look at the topic at hand.  It's safe to say we enjoyed detailed conversations!  And I greatly appreciated that, especially since it’s hard to find people willing to do that these days.

Anyway, this is the memory I am grateful for and will carry with me for the rest of my days.