Tilitzky, Jacob “Jake” (1925-2021)
Jacob "Jake" Tilitzky, pastor and conference leader; born 21 October 1925 in Gruenfeld, Schlachtin, South Russia to Cornelius G. (1890-1949) and Katharina (Penner) Tilitzky (1882-1966). Jake was the youngest of eight children. On November 22, 1952, Jacob married Erna Derksen (27 November 1923, Neuendorf, Chortitza – 14 February 2024, Abbotsford, British Columbia). He died in Abbotsford, British Columbia on 9 November 2021.
Little Jasch, as he was called, was not yet one year of age when his family fled the Soviet Union in 1926. The Tilitzky family lived in Hochfeld, Manitoba for two years before moving on to a farm in Waldheim, Saskatchewan. Although Jacob’s childhood was a happy one, the Great Depression intervened, and the Tilitzkys, hoping for a better future on Canada’s West Coast, moved eight years later to Abbotsford, British Columbia. It was an altogether different landscape and lifestyle, and at the time, Jacob harbored mixed feelings about the move.
In his teenage years, church life was little more than routine for Jacob. In 1947, however, his life was dramatically altered when he was baptized at West Abbotsford Mennonite Church. Following that experience, Tilitzky became an avid church worker, serving in Sunday school and Daily Vacation Bible School ministries, and conducting the youth choir. He subsequently studied for four years at Bethel Bible Institute, and later undertook winter sessions at Mennonite Brethren Bible College, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, and Mennonite Biblical Seminary.
In 1952 Jake married Erna Derksen. They had known each other since 1936 when their respective families moved to BC. The couple bought a house in which they resided for 54 years.
On 22 November 1957, the couple was ordained by Elder H. M. Epp. This event marked the beginning of a long and substantial church ministry. In 1963, the Tilitzkys were asked to serve as ministerial couple at the newly formed Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church in Abbotsford. Jacob, or "Jake," worked as pastor at the church until 1977 and then again from 1982 to 1990. Jake’s work was recognized for its competency as well as its open-mindedness, and he subsequently served nine years as chair of the Conference of Mennonites in BC (later Mennonite Church BC), three years as chair of Mennonite Church Canada, and six years as president of the General Conference Mennonite Church of North America. A highlight for Tilitzky was an event in 1983 that signaled the ensuing merger of the (Old) Mennonite Church with the General Conference: Ross Bender, moderator of the Mennonite Church, and Jake Tilitzky, moderator of the General Conference at the time, laid separate stones upon one stone, which symbolized Jesus Christ.
Jake Tilitzky, along with Erna, also worked with the global Mennonite church: Aussiedler ministries in Germany, 1977-1978; ministries in Colombia, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay, 1983, and Mexico, 1985 and 1990; and in the former Soviet Union, in Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Orenburg, 1989 and 1991. The latter was a time of overwhelming emotion for Tilitzky, working in areas where Mennonites had so suffered under the Communist regime.
Retirement did not suit Tilitzky’s energetic nature, and he took on interim pastoral duties in First United Mennonite Church, Vancouver, Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver, Eden Mennonite Church in Chilliwack, Bethel Mennonite Church in Aldergrove, and Clearbrook Mennonite Church in Abbotsford. Jake and Erna additionally worked periodically at Port Hardy Mennonite Fellowship, a small congregation with strong ties to Mennonite Central Committee work in the area. In January 2020, Jake and Erna moved to an Abbotsford long-term senior and care facility.
Jake Tilitzky played golf and tennis in retirement, but it was simply not enough – his church activities were too important for him. He and Erna lived simply, eschewing a wealthy lifestyle because they believed that was the Christian way. Jake’s sermons emphasized God’s love for his creation, and he frequently told stories that could be understood by young and old. Jake Tilitzky was an unusually non-judgmental minister, cultivating relationships both inside and outside the church, and he was respected even by individuals who felt alienated from Christian institutions. He was affectionately known as "JT."
Bibliography
Price, Louise Bergen. "Remembering Jake Tilitzky." Roots and Branches (June 2022): 20.
Rinner Waddell, Amy. "Pastor, conference leader dies at 96." Canadian Mennonite (15 Dec. 2021).
Tilitzky, Jacob. "The Life Story of Jacob Tilitzky – in his own words." Edited and updated by Bruno and Wanda Derksen-Bergen. n.d.
| Author(s) | Robert Martens |
|---|---|
| Date Published | September 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Martens, Robert. "Tilitzky, Jacob “Jake” (1925-2021)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2024. Web. 7 Sep 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Tilitzky,_Jacob_%E2%80%9CJake%E2%80%9D_(1925-2021)&oldid=179633.
APA style
Martens, Robert. (September 2024). Tilitzky, Jacob “Jake” (1925-2021). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 7 September 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Tilitzky,_Jacob_%E2%80%9CJake%E2%80%9D_(1925-2021)&oldid=179633.
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