Tribute

Katy Goossen (nee Wieler), was born on July 31^st, 1931 in Neuenberg, Ukraine.  Her parents were Cornelius and Helene Wieler (nee Hildebrand).  There were eight siblings, seven girls and one brother.

Three siblings have already passed away.  Hedy died at two years of age.  Helen, her oldest sister, died in 1995 of cancer at age 66.  A younger sister, Anne, died in 2009 of cancer at age 66. Along with these siblings Katy is predeceased by Richard Foth, Frank and Annie Friesen, Hank and Agnes Goossen, Nick and Janet Goossen and Alex Goossen. She is survived by the following:  her 3 sisters – Lydia (Nick) Peters, Liz (Neil) Klassen, Irm (Pete) Giesbrecht and her brother Neil (Linda) Wieler; brother-in-law Peter Penner and sisters-in-law Kay (John) Redden, Linda Goossen and Laurie Goossen; and many nieces and nephews.

Katy had a carefree childhood and was thankful to God for her devout parents who early on taught her and her siblings to pray.  Her parents were an example of belief and commitment to the family and she was thankful to God for them.

In 1943 Katy’s family needed to flee their home, as so many others also did. They travelled by train for nine days until they arrived in Poland on October 29^th. Her father was conscripted into the German Army at that time.  Her mom and the five girls needed to flee from village to village, sometimes by foot and other times by train, always to evade the advancing Russian troops.  This was a very difficult time, and often there was very little or nothing at all to eat.

At the end of the war Katy’s father was released from a Russian prisoner of war camp and found the family through his sister, Tina.  This was a miracle and they all thanked God that they were reunited.  Soon her father found work on a farm in Westfahlen and the family once again had their daily bread.

In October 1948 Katy and her family were able to immigrate to Canada. They were sponsored by her father’s relatives.  They soon found their spiritual home in the West Abbotsford Church.

In Canada, at 17 years of age, Katy found her Lord and Saviour and was baptized in 1949 by Aeltester H Epp and became a member of the West Abbotsford Church. Her baptismal verse was Psalm 143:10: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

When her husband, Jake Goossen, was later baptized, he had the same baptismal verse.

Katy was able to attend Bethel Bible College in Abbotsford for one year.  It was an opportunity to deepen her faith and to learn more of God’s Word. This was also a time of joy and the making of some lifelong friendships.

Katy then moved to Vancouver to help support her parents. Here she held a variety of jobs including working at Dad’s Cookies. She stayed in a house with a number of other Mennonite girls including her older sister and best friend Helen. Much of her work was cooking and cleaning for established families in Vancouver. While in Vancouver she met her dear husband, Jake. They were married on April 24^th, 1954.  They established a home in Vancouver and became members in the same year at First United Mennonite Church.

They had three sons:  John born in 1955, Len in 1957 and Rick in 1959.  As a couple they were thankful to God for three good and healthy sons, who brought them much joy.

In 1982 the eldest son, John, married Joan (nee Dyck).  Katy’s husband, Jake, was still alive when their first grandchild, Rachel, was born in March 1985.  This brought Jake and Katy great joy.

Len married Monica (nee Rogan) in 1991 and Rick married Brenda (nee Niebuhr) in 1988. Katy felt very fortunate to have a good relationship with all three of her daughters-in-law because she didn’t have her own daughters. The full family now includes 13 grandchildren: Rachel (Andrew), Bethany, Hannah, Tabitha (Sonny), Natalie, Lauren, Jake, Lucas, Claire, Brooke (Rob), Matthias (Kia), Neil (Amanda), and Kaylyn. And there are 7 great-grandchildren: Asher, Ian, Elliot, Theo, Fionn, Ronan and Jacoba.

Katy’s husband, Jake, passed away on November 15, 1985 after a long illness. Katy’s heart was broken with sadness, but the Lord gave her strength to carry on.  She believed and experienced ”that God is always with us and to Him be the glory.”  Her children and congregation were a great support during this difficult time even though she sorely missed him for the rest of her days. Her confidence was that the Lord was with her in the peaks and the valleys and her one prayer was always that her family would have the Lord as their heart-felt personal savior. She looked forward to being reunited in Heaven with her entire family.

Moving forward, Katy found great comfort in loving and spending time with her grandchildren and being a large part of their lives. She cared for them at various times, played with them in an active way and was a part of many of their family holidays in places such as Oliver, Parksville, Seattle and even Disneyland.

Katy volunteered with the MCC Thrift stores in Vancouver and Abbotsford for over 47 years. She found time for creating numerous quilts, sweaters, blankets, prayer shawls and baby sets for many charitable organizations. She created Angel Blankets for her grandchildren when they were young and Cowichan sweaters for them when they were grown. She also filled some of her time travelling with friends to many European countries, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, New York, Hawaii and other US locations. Her favorite trip was when she went to the Holy Land.

It was also Katy’s joy and privilege to serve for many years as a Sunday School teacher at her church in Vancouver. She learned a lot from the children and formed strong bonds with many who met her later in life and commented on it. She even acted as sponsor for many of them at their baptisms. Later on, she and her friend, Anita Harder, became the first women deacons at their Vancouver church.

Katy also practiced the gift of hospitality with many relatives and friends staying at her house and enjoying her meals and baking.  She would gladly host the kids’ friends for meals at all times.

In 2003 Katy moved to Abbotsford where she joined Ebenezer Mennonite Church and continued to serve in a variety of capacities including MCC, delivering recordings of sermons and driving people to various appointments. She enjoyed being closer to her siblings, playing cards with friends and also travelling. In 2010 she was able to participate in a Mennonite Heritage Cruise and return to her home village with John and Joan and her sister-in-law Kay Redden.

In 2017, Katy suffered a small stroke which affected her speech and made it hard for her to get the correct words out sometimes. She worked hard at her therapy and was able to continue to live independently.

After enjoying a wonderful Christmas and connecting with family, some online and some in person, Katy suffered a stroke on January 4^th and passed away on January 8^th.  She was comforted by family in her final days until she passed peacefully into the presence of the Lord.