Elma Penner Toews was born on July12, 1930, the youngest child of Abraham M. and Aganetha E. Giesbrecht Penner. She passed gently to the great beyond on June 4, 2024, at Heimstead Lodge, La Crete, Alberta. She had almost reached her 94th birthday.

When she was 11, her second sister got married, and since her mother was unable, it fell to our Mom to run the household, cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry for her father and seven brothers who still resided in the parental home. She was baptized by Minister Irvin Harms into the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, on November 23, 1945, at the age of 15. She remained faithful to God and these vows till the end.

Her mother passed away when Mom was 17. Somewhere between then and getting married, she worked in a Niagara Falls cannery in Ontario and also took a memorable trip with some cousins to Carlsbad Caverns and points south.

On May 24, 1953, she was united in marriage to Robert Toews of Morris, Manitoba. This marriage was officiated by her uncle, Minister John M. Penner.

In 1954, after their first child was born, they moved to a farm near Reston, Manitoba. There she raised their nine children with love and understanding, thus earning from her children all due devotion.

Through the years, she grew many large gardens to feed her family, and for the sheer joy of it, she planted and tended her flowers, trees, and shrubs. So the days, months, and years passed in a flurry of activity.

As the years took their toll, Mom and Dad relocated to Fort Vermilion in June 2017. Here they were near two of their children and also near a suitable care facility.

In March of 2020, Dad passed away, and Mom was left to navigate life without him.

Those left to cherish her life and memories are: Dolores and Gary Loewen of Pilot Mound, Manitoba; Roger and Marla of Fort Vermilion, Alberta; Lorna and Virgil Goossen of Fort Vermilion, Alberta; Hilton and Mavis of Stenen, Saskatchewan; Darwin and Kendra of Reston, Manitoba; Cindy and Burt Barkman of Wanham, Alberta; Lowell and Nora of Meeting Creek, Alberta; Freda of Blythe, Georgia; Blake of Meeting Creek, Alberta; 33 grandchildren and 46 great-grandchildren; many special nieces and nephews, including Joyce Toews (the daughter of Mom's eldest sister) of Steinbach, Manitoba.

Mom was predeceased by her parents, parents-in-law, all 11 of her siblings (nine brothers and two sisters), her husband Robert (of 66 years), seven brothers-in-law, five sisters-in-law, one grandson, one infant grandson, and one infant great-grandchild.