Helene Elfriede UNGER

1931 - 2017

UNGER, Helene Elfriede: January 7, 1931 - August 7, 2017. Our dear sister, wife, mother, aunt, grand, and great grandmother passed away peacefully into the loving arms of Jesus, her Savior, with family by her side, at her nursing home in Kelowna, at the age of 86. Frieda will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by her husband, Menno, children, Wendy (Gary) Kroening, Robert (Violet), Joanne (Marty) Wisla, Joy (Alan) O'Brien, Marge (Al) Johnson, James, many grandchildren and great grandchildren, brother George (Adelaide), and many nieces, nephews and friends. Frieda was predeceased by her sister and five brothers. Frieda was born in La Riviere, Manitoba and shortly after, moved with her family to Yarrow, B.C. where she met and married her beloved Menno. While raising her six children, and with her entrepreneurial spirit, Frieda opened a fabric shop. When her children were all of school age, Frieda, together with her husband, bought an interior decorating business in Kamloops where she thrived in sewing and installing window coverings. Frieda also had amazing talent in the kitchen, where she cooked, baked, hosted, and shared her delicious food creations with family, neighbors, friends, and those in need. Frieda had a great passion for music and blessed many an audience, (both large and small), with her beautiful voice. When Frieda and Menno relocated their business to Hinton, Alberta, she added some recreation to her busy life and became an avid cross-country skier. In their retirement years, Frieda and Menno returned to B.C. and served locally and internationally for ten years as volunteers with Mennonite Disaster Services. She thrived in the kitchen-feeding all the hungry volunteer crews. Frieda continued her volunteer work locally at the Okanagan Gleaners in Oliver for another six years until her health began to fail. She enjoyed spending time with all her grandchildren, and they in turn, especially enjoyed her love of life and laughter, and many delicious meals around "Oma's" kitchen island and dining room table. There will be a celebration of Frieda's life on Saturday, September 2, at 1:00 p.m. at Summerland Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mennonite Disaster Services or Okanagan Gleaners.