Obituary for Margaret Fast
Margaret (Penner) Fast – August 24, 1924 - November 1st, 2022
Margaret Fast was born on August 24, 1924, in Alexandrovka (Neuland), Ukraine. Her parents were Johann and Maria Penner. They had eight children, seven of whom survived to adulthood: Maria, Johann, Peter (Isaak), Jakob, twins Anna and Margaret, and Heinrich and Tina. Tina died young.
Margaret's childhood years were happy, despite the poverty and political unrest that defined the time. She attended school to grade seven, after which Ukraine became increasingly unstable, and schools were closed. The children were forced into a world of work and increasing unrest.
War brought many changes to the village, some welcome, some not. One of the positive consequences of the German occupation was the resumption of school. The other was the arrival in 1942 of Abram Fast to the village. He had escaped the Russian military and found his way to Ukraine, walking along rail lines for three months. He had been told he had relatives in Ukraine in a Mennonite village. Since he had grown up in Eastern Russia, he now encountered Mennonites in Ukraine for the first time. He was assigned as a teacher in the village, and he and Margaret fell in love.On Pentecost 1942 they were both baptised, together with 75 other young people. After many years of church being banned, it was great to gather as a large community and a large choir!
By October 1943, Karl and Margaret were married amidst growing fears of the coming conflict and possible evacuations. Ten days after their wedding, they were forced to flee with the retreating German army. This flight included all their family and fellow villagers. They arrived in the German-occupied territory of Western Poland, known as the Warthegau. Here they were assigned living quarters. Because Karl was a teacher, they were housed in the schoolhouse in Osmolin. Margaret’s parents were in Schadeck, about 15 kilometres away.
In June 1944, all the men were drafted into the German army, including all Margaret’s brothers, her brother-in-law Gerhard Neufeld who had married her sister Maria, and her young husband. She was now alone in an empty schoolhouse in the middle of nowhere it seemed. Thankfully her brother Jakob was stationed in Freihaus, not too far from her.
She was expecting their first child by now and knew she would need help at some point. Jakob checked up on her regularly, for which she was very grateful. One day she was staring out of a second-storey window of the schoolhouse and observed an oncoming army of Cossacks. They had allied with the Germans, and she did not fear them as enemies, but she was all alone, female, pregnant, and totally defenceless. For some reason, she stayed calm in the certain knowledge that Jakob would arrive in time. And so it was. He must have learned of the Cossacks’ arrival and headed to see his sister. Margaret saw him speaking to the leaders, and although some of the soldiers were already on the main floor, they were all persuaded to leave. She had stayed quietly upstairs and waited for Jakob. When he came to her, his first question was, “Weren’t you scared?” She remembered saying something like, “No, I knew you would come.”
When it was time for Hilde to be born, Jakob brought the midwife. It was a challenging experience, but Margaret now had a child to remember Abram by. Abram, or Karl as he was now called, received a telegram of the news and came to see them for a week or so. This brief reunion was followed by orders to return to his company, and shortly after he was sent to the front.
In January 1945, three months after the birth of her baby, they fled again, on wagons and on foot, to Hannover, in West Germany. With the assistance of Mennonite Central Committee, they were sent to Gronau in Westphalia. As refugees, they were placed with a family named Hubbeling. They had a large farm, and this is where Hilde and Margaret spent many happy years waiting to hear from Karl, her husband, and father of her child. The Hubbeling family remained in contact with the Fast family long after they left for Canada. They visited the family in Winnipeg years later and when Karl and Margaret trevelled to Germany with Mennonite Central Committee in 1986, the whole extended Hubbeling clan, with the exception of the parents who had taken Margaret and Hilde in so long ago, were at the airport to greet them. They had reserved a restaurant and treated them as dear friends. It is one of the memories Margaret cherished, mainly because it was a direct result of her own relationships and experiences, independently fostered at that difficult time in my life.
In September 1949, Margaret, Hilde and Karl were reunited as a family when Karl was finally released from the Russian prisoner-of-war camp. Margaret’s parents and sister Anna and brother Jakob and family had left for Canada the previous year. Her brothers Johann and Peter had fallen as victims of the war, and Heinrich was missing in action, and so the little family made plans to join Margaret’s parents and siblings in Winnipeg. They arrived in Winnipeg on December 3, 1949 after travelling by ship and train.
In Canada 4 more children were born—Lorie in 1951, Marlies in 1953, and Karl and Agnes in 1956. Margaret was a woman of her time. She was a tireless supporter of her husband, and this allowed him to work, study, write, and fill his days and evenings with the work he felt called to do. This required a willingness on our mother’s part to put her own needs aside and concentrate on her children's and husband’s needs first.
Our mother never worked outside the home, but she certainly worked hard in the home. She was a seamstress for us girls, an excellent cook and baker, and a hostess. Our house was filled with guests most weekends and very often open to overnight guests from within Canada and later with long-lost family from Russia and Germany. Our house was also open to our friends, and our parents made us all feel welcome.
At first, Mom and Dad were members of North Kildonan Mennonite and then later
Springfield Heights Mennonite Church. Their commitment to their church was strong. Mom served on the committees; she volunteered at the Westgate Thrift Store and made many friends in this way. Mom and dad travelled once they were in a position to do so. They made many trips to Europe, Eastern Canada, Hawaii, and Mexico. After dad retired, they spent a year working with Umsiedler or Russian immigrants in Unna Massen, Germany. In this work, our mom was critical to Dad’s work. She often mentioned how dependent Dad was on her, something that was different than it used to be. By the early 1990s, Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and from then until 2005, when Dad died, she was at his side continually. Bethania became home to Dad and, to a certain extent, to Mom,too. They spent almost four years there, Mom visiting every day.
We were very fortunate to have our parents loving each other and us as we grew up. Our children and grandchildren, too, have benefitted from this love passed down to us through them.
Our mother cared for each grandchild, great-grandchild and great-great-grandchild.She remembered each birthday, made chicken soup for each birth and would bake her famous Fleischperischke endlessly if anyone even hinted at wanting some for the next event.
Our mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother Margaret (Greta) Fast, passed on November 1st, 2022, at 11:45 pm. She died peacefully, surrounded by her children. Our mom was a strong, loving woman to the end. She had suffered from physical limitations but was clear and bright almost to the last.
Mom is survived by her children Hilde and Henry Neustadter, Lorie Bergen, Otto Klassen and Ana Wanke, Agnes Mauer and Gunness Seebalak, Karl and Janet Fast, sixteen grandchildren, forty-three great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, sisters in law Susie Fast and Katharina Penner in Germany and many nieces and nephews, here in North America and Germany. She was predeceased by her parents, Johann and Maria Penner, husband Karl Fast, daughter Marlies Klassen, granddaughter Stephanie Mauer, son-in-law Arthur Bergen, sister Anna Klassen and brothers Heinrich and Jakob Penner.
Funeral Service will be held Monday, November 7, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Douglas Mennonite Church, 1517 Rothesay Street, with viewing prior to the service. Interment in Sage Creek Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Karl and Margaret Fast Scholarship fund at Westgate Mennonite Collegiate. (https://westgatemennonite.ca/giving/)
Margaret Fast was born on August 24, 1924, in Alexandrovka (Neuland), Ukraine. Her parents were Johann and Maria Penner. They had eight children, seven of whom survived to adulthood: Maria, Johann, Peter (Isaak), Jakob, twins Anna and Margaret, and Heinrich and Tina. Tina died young.
Margaret's childhood years were happy, despite the poverty and political unrest that defined the time. She attended school to grade seven, after which Ukraine became increasingly unstable, and schools were closed. The children were forced into a world of work and increasing unrest.
War brought many changes to the village, some welcome, some not. One of the positive consequences of the German occupation was the resumption of school. The other was the arrival in 1942 of Abram Fast to the village. He had escaped the Russian military and found his way to Ukraine, walking along rail lines for three months. He had been told he had relatives in Ukraine in a Mennonite village. Since he had grown up in Eastern Russia, he now encountered Mennonites in Ukraine for the first time. He was assigned as a teacher in the village, and he and Margaret fell in love.On Pentecost 1942 they were both baptised, together with 75 other young people. After many years of church being banned, it was great to gather as a large community and a large choir!
By October 1943, Karl and Margaret were married amidst growing fears of the coming conflict and possible evacuations. Ten days after their wedding, they were forced to flee with the retreating German army. This flight included all their family and fellow villagers. They arrived in the German-occupied territory of Western Poland, known as the Warthegau. Here they were assigned living quarters. Because Karl was a teacher, they were housed in the schoolhouse in Osmolin. Margaret’s parents were in Schadeck, about 15 kilometres away.
In June 1944, all the men were drafted into the German army, including all Margaret’s brothers, her brother-in-law Gerhard Neufeld who had married her sister Maria, and her young husband. She was now alone in an empty schoolhouse in the middle of nowhere it seemed. Thankfully her brother Jakob was stationed in Freihaus, not too far from her.
She was expecting their first child by now and knew she would need help at some point. Jakob checked up on her regularly, for which she was very grateful. One day she was staring out of a second-storey window of the schoolhouse and observed an oncoming army of Cossacks. They had allied with the Germans, and she did not fear them as enemies, but she was all alone, female, pregnant, and totally defenceless. For some reason, she stayed calm in the certain knowledge that Jakob would arrive in time. And so it was. He must have learned of the Cossacks’ arrival and headed to see his sister. Margaret saw him speaking to the leaders, and although some of the soldiers were already on the main floor, they were all persuaded to leave. She had stayed quietly upstairs and waited for Jakob. When he came to her, his first question was, “Weren’t you scared?” She remembered saying something like, “No, I knew you would come.”
When it was time for Hilde to be born, Jakob brought the midwife. It was a challenging experience, but Margaret now had a child to remember Abram by. Abram, or Karl as he was now called, received a telegram of the news and came to see them for a week or so. This brief reunion was followed by orders to return to his company, and shortly after he was sent to the front.
In January 1945, three months after the birth of her baby, they fled again, on wagons and on foot, to Hannover, in West Germany. With the assistance of Mennonite Central Committee, they were sent to Gronau in Westphalia. As refugees, they were placed with a family named Hubbeling. They had a large farm, and this is where Hilde and Margaret spent many happy years waiting to hear from Karl, her husband, and father of her child. The Hubbeling family remained in contact with the Fast family long after they left for Canada. They visited the family in Winnipeg years later and when Karl and Margaret trevelled to Germany with Mennonite Central Committee in 1986, the whole extended Hubbeling clan, with the exception of the parents who had taken Margaret and Hilde in so long ago, were at the airport to greet them. They had reserved a restaurant and treated them as dear friends. It is one of the memories Margaret cherished, mainly because it was a direct result of her own relationships and experiences, independently fostered at that difficult time in my life.
In September 1949, Margaret, Hilde and Karl were reunited as a family when Karl was finally released from the Russian prisoner-of-war camp. Margaret’s parents and sister Anna and brother Jakob and family had left for Canada the previous year. Her brothers Johann and Peter had fallen as victims of the war, and Heinrich was missing in action, and so the little family made plans to join Margaret’s parents and siblings in Winnipeg. They arrived in Winnipeg on December 3, 1949 after travelling by ship and train.
In Canada 4 more children were born—Lorie in 1951, Marlies in 1953, and Karl and Agnes in 1956. Margaret was a woman of her time. She was a tireless supporter of her husband, and this allowed him to work, study, write, and fill his days and evenings with the work he felt called to do. This required a willingness on our mother’s part to put her own needs aside and concentrate on her children's and husband’s needs first.
Our mother never worked outside the home, but she certainly worked hard in the home. She was a seamstress for us girls, an excellent cook and baker, and a hostess. Our house was filled with guests most weekends and very often open to overnight guests from within Canada and later with long-lost family from Russia and Germany. Our house was also open to our friends, and our parents made us all feel welcome.
At first, Mom and Dad were members of North Kildonan Mennonite and then later
Springfield Heights Mennonite Church. Their commitment to their church was strong. Mom served on the committees; she volunteered at the Westgate Thrift Store and made many friends in this way. Mom and dad travelled once they were in a position to do so. They made many trips to Europe, Eastern Canada, Hawaii, and Mexico. After dad retired, they spent a year working with Umsiedler or Russian immigrants in Unna Massen, Germany. In this work, our mom was critical to Dad’s work. She often mentioned how dependent Dad was on her, something that was different than it used to be. By the early 1990s, Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and from then until 2005, when Dad died, she was at his side continually. Bethania became home to Dad and, to a certain extent, to Mom,too. They spent almost four years there, Mom visiting every day.
We were very fortunate to have our parents loving each other and us as we grew up. Our children and grandchildren, too, have benefitted from this love passed down to us through them.
Our mother cared for each grandchild, great-grandchild and great-great-grandchild.She remembered each birthday, made chicken soup for each birth and would bake her famous Fleischperischke endlessly if anyone even hinted at wanting some for the next event.
Our mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother Margaret (Greta) Fast, passed on November 1st, 2022, at 11:45 pm. She died peacefully, surrounded by her children. Our mom was a strong, loving woman to the end. She had suffered from physical limitations but was clear and bright almost to the last.
Mom is survived by her children Hilde and Henry Neustadter, Lorie Bergen, Otto Klassen and Ana Wanke, Agnes Mauer and Gunness Seebalak, Karl and Janet Fast, sixteen grandchildren, forty-three great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, sisters in law Susie Fast and Katharina Penner in Germany and many nieces and nephews, here in North America and Germany. She was predeceased by her parents, Johann and Maria Penner, husband Karl Fast, daughter Marlies Klassen, granddaughter Stephanie Mauer, son-in-law Arthur Bergen, sister Anna Klassen and brothers Heinrich and Jakob Penner.
Funeral Service will be held Monday, November 7, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Douglas Mennonite Church, 1517 Rothesay Street, with viewing prior to the service. Interment in Sage Creek Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Karl and Margaret Fast Scholarship fund at Westgate Mennonite Collegiate. (https://westgatemennonite.ca/giving/)