PAULINE FADENRECHT

Pauline Fadenrecht, 93 of Langdon formerly of Munich, ND passed away on Monday, December 20, 2010 at Maple Manor Care Center, Langdon. Funeral Services for Pauline will be held on Wednesday, January 5, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. at the Salem Mennonite Church, Munich, ND. Rev. Jason Wood will officiate and burial will be in the Rosehill Cemetery, rural Alsen, ND in the spring. Visitation will be held at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Tuesday from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with a Prayer Service and Time of Remembrance at 7:00 p.m. Visitation on Wednesday will be at the church one hour prior to the funeral service. A person’s passing away marks a time of looking back over that person’s life. In the case of my mother, I think it is important to look back beyond the past 15 years, before the period of time that has sometimes been described as “the long good-bye”. This period of time has consumed us to the point that sometimes it is hard to remember who she really was, so I would like to take you back for a short trip down memory lane. Pauline was born to Peter and Susie (Guenther) Wiens on September 21, 1917 in Gordon Township, rural Alsen. She joined a sister, Esther, and in time two brothers, Edwin and Elmer joined the family. They lived and worked hard together. Their social and spiritual life was centered in the Rosehill Church a mile north, which had been established with the help of her Grandpa Guenther. Their schooling was in one of the Gordon Township schools where they attended through 8th grade. She would so much have enjoyed continuing her schooling beyond the 8th grade, but that was not even considered a possibility for her. She read a great deal and worked hard at educating herself. Besides helping on the farm, she had several jobs in her teen years. She worked for a while at Manson’s Bakery and Café in Langdon and as a live-in housekeeper for Bill and Eleanor Coffee in Munich. Mom was 20 years old when she married Johnnie J. Fadenrecht on September 11, 1938. They set up their home on what is today a non-existent farm site in Huron Township and lived there for 6 years. I was born during that period of time. It was during this time span that God spared her life. She was helping in the hay field during haying season, operating the horse drawn rake. For some reason the horses spooked and ran. A similar accident resulted in death for a man in the community and she too, could very easily been killed, but this was not God’s plan for her, and He chose to spare her life. In 1946 we moved to the Goertzen farm in Henderson Township. During the years that we lived there Mom spent a great deal of time making the yard a real beauty spot. She loved gardening and always had a huge vegetable garden and raised beautiful flowers. During these years she was very involved in the ministry of the Rosehill Church. She at one time or other taught every age group in Sunday School. She and Dad sang in the choir and they and her brother Ed and his wife Catherine sang in a mixed quartet. Mom loved to open her home to visiting missionaries and pastors. She truly had the gift of hospitality. In 1977, Mom suffered another farm accident when her foot was caught in the grain auger. Her life and even her foot were spared and she learned to walk without a limp. Mom’s greatest joy came in the mid 70’s with the arrival of her grandsons. She never grew tired of having them around and did everything and anything they could possibly think to ask for. Mom was an excellent cook and loved to cook and bake. She loved making them the special things they liked to eat. One food that all of us liked, except Tim, was verinika. When she made them, she made a whole other special meal just for Tim. When the boys would come home from college for the weekends, she would make treats for them to take back. One of the first signs that things were not as they should be was when she forgot to make the treats. In 1981 Mom and Dad moved to Munich. There they continued their yard work and garden and flower beds. Mom was also a member of the Garden Club. She was also very involved with the ministry of Christian Women’s Club, helping with the Club meetings and hosting Friendship Bible Coffees in her home and babysitting so young mothers could attend. During those years, the Rosehill Church closed its doors and they began to attend Salem Church. In 1998 they celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary with an Open House reception. Health problems began to surface in major ways for both Mom and Dad in the mid 1990’s. The problems became increasingly serious and in November of 1999 they entered Maple Manor Care Center. Dad was there for 14 months and passed away in February of 2001. During the years Mom has been there she has overcome some major physical problems, but nothing could be done about the mental deterioration. It is a blessing to know that at last the confusion is over and she can see and hear and think clearly and understand completely. Pauline is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Eugene Dick of Munich; grandsons, Tim Dick of Blaine, Minnesota and Todd Dick and his wife Cheryl Dick of Papillion, Nebraska; sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Catherine Wiens of Langdon, ND, Arvelda Wiens of Grand Forks, ND and Helen Fadenrecht of Hillsboro, Kansas and a number of nephews and nieces. Pauline was preceded in death by her parents; husband, John; sister and brother-in-law, Esther and Peter Eitzen; brothers, Edwin Wiens and Elmer Wiens; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Bennie and Ruth Fadenrecht, Walter and Minnie Neufeld and Edwin Fadenrecht.