Tribute

Hilda María (Janzen) Goertzen was born on December 28, 1949, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the age of eleven, she immigrated with her mother to Wembley, Alberta. Five years later, she, her mother and step-father moved to Chilliwack BC. There she met Peter Goertzen, who would become the love of her life. They were married in 1969 and moved to Winnipeg, where she began to raise her family. The next two decades brought them to Waterloo Ontario, back to Chilliwack, and to southern Manitoba again. During these years, she was very involved in the arts. In music, she helped establish the Chilliwack Music Academy, sang in various choirs and ensembles, and conducted children’s choirs. Other artistic endeavours included pottery, calligraphy, folk art, knitting, photography and painting. In 1987, Hilda and her family settled in the Fraser Valley where she began to paint seriously. She also taught piano and voice lessons, explored family history, wrote stories, poetry and songs and, with Peter, developed a passion for travel. From her Rosedale home, she loved to careen through the local countryside on her bicycle. She was always aware of the colours and beauty around her, so prominent in her paintings, her photos and the clothes she wore. For all her interests, her family, friends and unassuming faith were dearest to her. After a five-year battle with lymphoma, Hilda died peacefully at the Cascade Hospice in Chilliwack on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at the age of sixty-six. She was the loving wife of Peter for forty-six years and mother of Andrea (Byron) and Michael, and grandmother of Zachary and Caleb and sister of Juan. She was predeceased by her parents Johann and Katharina Janzen, stepfather Cornie Janzen, and sister Erica Klassen.