Friesen, Anna (1885-1981)

Anna (Giesbrecht) Wiebe Friesen (1885-1981)
Source: Charlotte Matthies

Anna (Giesbrecht) Wiebe Friesen; chiropractor; born 28 October 1885 in Reinfeld, Yazykovo Mennonite Settlement, South Russia to Johann Giesbrecht (25 March 1856, South Russia – 2 June 1936, Shafter, California) and Elizabeth (Krause) Giesbrecht (29 July 1863, Petersdorf, Yazykovo, South Russia – 22 August 1925, Shafter, California). Anna was the fourth oldest of 14 children. In ca. 1907, Anna married Johann Wiebe. Anna brought one son, Heinrich, into the marriage, and she and Johann together had six children, three of whom survived infancy: Elisabeth, Wilhelm, and Aganeta. Johann died of typhus in 1919, and in 1925, Anna and her three children emigrated to Canada; Heinrich, who was married, remained behind in the Soviet Union, as he was in the Russian army. He is known to have died in the 1930s. On 23 June 1926, within a year of arriving in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada, Anna married Johann B. Friesen (27 April 1886, Friedensfeld, Zagradovka Mennonite Settlement, South Russia – 23 May 1973, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), a widower recently arrived from Mexico with four children. They had one child together, Anne. Anna Friesen died 5 January 1981 in Abbotsford, BC, where she was buried.

Anna was known as a bone-mender and bonesetter. It is believed that Anna became aware at an early age that she was a healer, learning her craft from her own mother. She was self-trained as a reflexologist, working on pressure points in the feet. She did deep muscle massage to the point where her thumbs became bent from years of pressing against hard muscle. She was a skilled midwife, providing this service in Russia during those precarious times when medical assistance was not within close proximity or available. It was a gift that she practiced regularly during her first years in Canada.

In 1928, the family moved westward, first to Herbert, Saskatchewan and then in 1931 to the District of Matsqui (now part of Abbotsford). Johann and Anna Friesen were among the first Mennonites to arrive in present-day Abbotsford, homesteading on recently logged stump land on Upper Maclure Road. Anna was often called upon to deliver babies as it took so much time to procure a doctor from Abbotsford, and that practice continued until better roads were built in the 1940s.

Eventually, Anna and Johann moved from their acreage to a lot in Clearbrook on which the Mennonite Educational Institute would be built in 1943. It was at this time that Friesen’s chiropractic practice expanded. She became more accessible to the wider community and established a very good rapport with her client base. Her reputation spread throughout the Fraser Valley and into Vancouver. Her appointment books were kept meticulously. She jotted down names, dates, and what clients had paid, either in cash or produce. There were times when she was paid with cream or eggs, but those forms of payments were most often shared with those in need.

In the early years, Johann and Anna Friesen worshiped in homes with others, and in 1936, they were among the 24 members who formally organized as the North Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church (known as the Clearbrook Mennonite Brethren Church after 1950).

Anna was well-read, followed international news, and befriended local politicians. While gardening and baking occupied some of her time, helping people always came first. Her compassion developed from the years she and her young family experienced severe privation in Russia. She was quietly generous with anyone she saw in need, or who came to her for assistance. Her house was a depot for distributing clothing to the impoverished in the community. Her grandchildren recall that, whenever there was a family dinner at their grandparents’ home, they were sent to deliver a plate of hot food to a bachelor who lived in a shack in the field behind their house. That was how Anna Friesen lived out her life.

Bibliography

Matthies, Charlotte. "Anna Friesen." Personal e-mail (15 April 2023).

Author(s)	David F. Loewen
Date Published	August 2023

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MLA style

Loewen, David F.. "Friesen, Anna (1885-1981)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2023. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Friesen,_Anna_(1885-1981)&oldid=176735.

APA style

Loewen, David F.. (August 2023). Friesen, Anna (1885-1981). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Friesen,_Anna_(1885-1981)&oldid=176735.

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