Tribute

Gerald Herbert Janzen,  age 77 of Abbotsford, BC, passed away peacefully on  November 3, 2023.  Gerald was born to Henry and Katherine Janzen  on September 6, 1946.

Gerald led a full and adventurous life. He lived in many different places, starting out in the Fraser Valley, on to the Yukon, back down to the Fraser Valley, and living in various areas of Vancouver.  In 1967 Gerald attended Bible School where he met Trudy Sommerfeld and in May of 1969 they were married. They had two sons, Christian and Eric.

After graduation from Simon Fraser University with a degree in teaching, he took his first teaching assignment in Kitimat, BC.  From here, he would go on to teach in Kelowna before moving to Fresno, CA, where he completed an MA in Biblical Studies at MBBS. Gerald would then spend five years teaching in Quebec at the Institute Biblique Laval.

In 1983, he moved to Abbotsford and briefly taught at the MEI before taking a teaching position at Columbia Bible College, which was his dream job. He completed a Master of Theology degree at Regent College in 1999.

He was active in church wherever he lived. He served as a Moderator at several churches, served on MB Conference boards, sat on committees, attended church meetings, and considered being a part of the church community a very important part of his life.

Gerald deeply treasured his family and will be dearly missed by all of them.

He is survived by his wife, Trudy, his sons Christian (Vicki), Eric (Nicole), grandchildren, Holly, Eva, Thomas, Katherine, and Claire; his brother Victor (Claudia) Janzen, and sister Peggy VanAchte.

One of dad’s passions was making the world a better place.

Please consider making a donation in honour of him to one of MCC’s many programs that help people all over the world.