Margaret Pankratz

The Life of Margaret (Kornelsen) Pankratz Margaret (Kornelsen) Pankratz was born on May 9th, 1912 in the Mennonite village of Kusmitzky in southern Russia (Ukraine). Her parents were Johann Jacob Kornelsen and Margaret (Penner) Kornelsen. Margaret had four older siblings, Isaac, John, Katie and Jacob (died in infancy). Her mother died when Margaret was four years old. Her father remarried and eventually Margaret had four more sisters, Helen, Maria, Sara, and Anne, as well as four more brothers, Jake, Bill, Ed and Cornelius. Johann Kornelsen was a prosperous farmer before the Russian revolution, and when collectivization and turbulence threatened his life and family, the family was fortunate to escape Russia. Unfortunately, Margaret’s two older brothers and their families were not able to accompany them. Margaret was seventeen when her family got to the refugee quarters in Germany. Here her sisters, Maria and Sara succumbed to childhood diseases and her brother Bill was born. They sailed for Canada on the S.S. Montrose on March 14, 1930 and arrived in Canada on March 23, 1930. The train took them to Watrous, Saskatchewan, where Margaret’s older sister Katie was waiting for them. The family’s arrival in Canada coincided with the onset of the Depression and it was a difficult beginning. Margaret worked as a domestic, sometimes for as little as $5.00 a month, in order to help her family to survive. On July 19, 1931, Margaret was baptized on her confession of faith by Rev. Henry Bartel of the North Star Mennonite Church at Drake. She became one of the founding members of the Bethany Mennonite Church at Watrous. During the winter of 1934 Margaret attended Bible School in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan. During the summer of that same year, a young man named Jacob Pankratz worked for a farmer near Watrous. The following summer he returned to propose marriage and on June 16th, 1935, Margaret and Jacob were married. Jacob and Margaret enjoyed almost 72 years of marriage, before Jacob died in 2007. Margaret accompanied Jacob to a farm near Truax, Saskatchewan, where he farmed with his older brother, Peter. Jacob’s mother lived with the young couple. Four children John, Justina, Nettie and Jacob, were born to Margaret and Jacob at Truax. In 1943, the family moved to a farm north of Manitou Lake. Another son, Isaac, was born here. Faith, family and her garden were Margaret’s priorities. Margaret lived a life of devotion to God, and in spite of times of hardship and adversity, she remained steadfast in her faith. Margaret worked hard to take care of her family and to contribute to the work of her church. She baked countless soft white buns to feed her family and provide meals at the church. Her grandchildren give testimony to the devotion their grandmother had to making their favorite foods! Margaret spent many hours in her gardens- first on the farm and then when son Isaac and Linda moved onto the farm in 1971 and she and Jacob retired to Watrous, she started another garden. At this time of the year, in March and April, Margaret would be planting and transplanting her tomato plants, giving them a head start for the growing season. Margaret lived a long, full life of almost 102 years. She was predeceased by many members of her family. She lost her mother (1916); two brothers (Jacob, 1910) and Cornelius (1936) in infancy; two sisters, Maria (1930) and Sara (1930); her brothers, Isaac (1943) and John (1937) during the troubled years of revolution and war. Her father Johann died in 1974; her step mothers Maria (Penner) Kornelsen in 1918, Katherina (Janzen) Kornelsen in 1956 and Tina (Penner) Kornelsen in 1986. Also she was predeceased by her sisters-in-law, Maria (Isaac) Kornelsen; Margaret (John) Kornelsen; Gerda (Jake) Kornelsen; Agnes (Ed) Kornelsen; brothers-in-law Peter (Katie) Sawatzky and Fred (Anne) Boehr. Margaret lost her brother Bill (2008); sister Katie (2011) sister Helen (2012) and brother Ed (2013). In her immediate family she lost her son John in 1966 and her husband Jacob in 2007; her daughter-in-law, Stella (John) in 2008 and son-in-law, John Orlando (Nettie) in 2011. Left to mourn Margaret are her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Grandson(son of Margaret’s oldest son John)Victor Pankratz, great grandchildren Hailey, Aaron, and Hanna Pankratz; Daughter Justina and Heinz Heese; Karen Heese and James Barber, Jonathan and Kristopher Barber; Karla and Ben Brown, Nevan and Linnea Brown; Jonathan Heese; Daughter Nettie Bartel; Roxanne Bartel and Doug Nelson, Rose and Isaac Nelson; Michael Bartel and Jennifer Lipman Bartel; Son Jacob Pankratz (Margaret Rutherford); Jacqueline and Kurt Brewer and Gerald Pankratz; Son Isaac and Linda Pankratz; Eric Pankratz and Brandon and Grace Pankratz, Keith and Karen Pankratz and Jessica, Simon and Micah Pankratz, and David and Kathryn Pankratz and Isaac and Ethan Pankratz. She is also survived by her brother Jake Kornelsen, sister Anne Boehr and sisters-in- law Lena Kornelsen and Leila Kornelsen as well as many nieces and nephews.