Rosella Ann Penner
Rosella Ann (Loewen) Penner passed away beautifully in the arms of her husband John Dennis Penner, at the age of 70, on Saturday morning May 18, 2013 in St. Boniface hospital, Winnipeg, after complications arising from her 7 year battle with Multiple Myeloma.
Rosella was born August 27, 1942 to Cornelius and Marie Loewen of Steinbach, Manitoba. She had nine siblings (4 sisters and 5 brothers). She grew up and went to School near Steinbach making many lifelong friends who miss her greatly.
After moving from the Steinbach area, she studied nursing in Winnipeg. After a short courtship she married John on May 5, 1962, they welcomed their first son Dale on October 13, 1962. In 1965, their second bundle of joy, Terry was born on April 7. Jacquie burst into their life on May 16, 1969 to be their little ray of sunshine. Jonathon was born November 15, 1971 and was their cherished little baby boy. And then Cheryl Auckland was adopted in 1981 to round out their family.
From Winnipeg they moved to the Landmark area where mom enjoyed many years of being a stay at home mother. Here she developed a passion as a florist, starting out with Auntie Rosa and eventually owning her own flower shop. She loved working with flowers and continued with it for as long as her body allowed, even helping Jacquie decorate in church recently.
Her family bloomed to include: Liza (who snagged Dale). Together they have four children, Erika, Evan, Ryan and Halle. Rox (who caught Terry) and their two children, Nick and Zoe.
Duane (who got hitched to Jacquie) and their children, Micah (and their favorite granddaughter in-law Dana), Emerald, and Jerico. Darrell (who stalked Cheryl) and their children, Katarina, Angelica and Mr. Thomas. And Elana (who roped Jonathon) and their children, Mercedes and Hayley.
John and Rosella enjoyed their empty nest years in Mitchell and most recently, Steinbach. She was a devoted, loving, patient, Christian woman who stood up for what she believed. She loved lively music, especially when Jonathon played. She loved to sing and at Christmas time would insist on singing Christmas carols as a family, which, at first, we all hated. But now, we kinda like it. Rudolph the red nosed reindeer by the grandkids was a favorite. She also loved baking Christmas cookies with her grandchildren every year.
She loved parties, family gatherings (especially with the crazy Loewen women) and laughing until her stomach hurt! Loved any games, and Scrabble was always a favorite. (Accuse her for cheating and she would get VERY defensiveJ Her blueberry pie and cinnamon buns were exceptionally awesomeJ
She was an amazing prayer warrior for whatever requests came her way, and enjoyed her times with her Bible study groups and prayer summits at church. Her relationship with Jesus
was the most important part of her life and she loved to worship and had a strong desire for her kids to have a relationship with Jesus too. She would gladly endure this sickness if she
knew it would help her kids to know Jesus and grow in their relationship with God.
We love her VERY VERY much and will miss her like crazy, wish we had hugged her more, and told her we loved her and appreciated her more often.
She is predeceased by her brother Robert , brother in-law Rudy, sister in-law Rita , father Cornelius Loewen, mother Marie Loewen, father-in-law Abram C Penner and mother-in-law Anna C Penner, sister-in-law Helena , sister-in-law Marie, brother-in-law Frank, brother-in-law Bennie, sister-in-law Justina, brother-in-law Johnny, sister-in-law Val.
