A Tribute to Jean Neufeld
by David Giesbrecht

In our office, Thursday is known as Jean’s day, for that is the shift when she is the person in charge.  Jean began volunteering with the Society about ten years ago, and I do not recall her ever missing a shift, unless of course she and Wilmer were traveling, or something very urgent prevented her from coming.
 Over the years she gave of herself in a variety of ways, serving on our Board of Directors for a term, and more recently, taking on the responsibility of scanning and identifying our large collection of  photographs. She was also very active in creating indexes for some of the German immigration records we have in our Center.
 Visitors to the Center in the past several years could not miss seeing Jean’s handiwork, the photographs which line the entry to our office.  Within the past two weeks, she had prepared a new set of pictures featuring BC Mennonite churches, a choice emphasizing her deep concern that the work we do in the Society connect to our local congregations.
 Jean was always a willing worker at each of our public events. Most recently, at our musical concert at the Central Heights church on May 6, she set up a display of carefully selected of rare music books from our collection.
 Jean brought another very precious gift to our Center. Often I have observed how skillfully and gracefully she met visitors who came looking for  information. In fact, it was a deep delight for me to observe the professional way she performed such public service. She set a wonderful tone in our office, and always seemed optimistic. Whenever we discussed some work to be done, her typical response was either, “You bet” or “fabulous.”
 On behalf of the Society and all of us who knew and loved Jean Neufeld, I want to acknowledge her many contributions to our cause. Jean’s  family has lost a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother. We have lost a much-appreciated colleague whose contribution will not be easy to replace.

Jean Neufeld: A generous soul with a listening ear
by Mary Ann Quiring

Jean Martha Neufeld, fourth child of John C. and Martha (Harder) Schmidt, was born 28 July 1935 in Waldheim, Saskatchewan.  Jean spent her childhood in Waldheim.  She came to the Lord at a Janz Brothers Crusade when she was twelve. She baptized upon her confession of faith shortly after, and was received into the membership of  Brotherfield MB church.  After graduating from high school, she attended business college in Saskatoon from 1952-1954.

     She worked for Marvin’s Drycleaners, and it was in a coffee shop close to work where she met Wilmer Neufeld who was working for Moore-Smith & Co. Heating & Air Conditioning.  After a one- year courtship, they married in August, 1955.  Jean was now a wife and also looked after her mother-in-law who lived with them.  The birth of their daughter Cheryl on August 8, 1958, was a bitter-sweet, since Jean lost her brother Loren on August 23.  A son, Douglas, was born to them in 1960.  A year later Jean lost her only sister Ruby.  Jean was deeply affected by the loss of her siblings.  Brian, their third child, was born in the summer of 1964.

     In 1966 the family pulled up their roots and moved to Germany where Jean supported Wilmer in his singing career.  They were there until 1972.

     In 1972 the family moved to Calgary where Jean continued homemaking.  In 1976, she became Office Manager of the Jewish Community Center & Society.  Her work there was very much appreciated.

    When they moved to Abbotsford, Jean looked for other ways to volunteer.  She became a valuable member of the MHSBC team and faithfully worked at many aspects of the archives, all the while bringing her aging mother to their home for many, many day visits.  For the last two years she also volunteered one day a week at the MCC store.

     Jean’s health was a concern, but she was not a complainer.  She was a stalwart helpmate to Wilmer during his times of illness.  She was a generous soul and lent a listening ear to all who needed it.  Her seemingly boundless energy was infectious and those around her were also encouraged by her smile, easy laugh and resounding “YOU BET!”    We have not just lost a great volunteer, but a dear, dear friend.