Loewen, Gerhard (1863-1946)
Gerhard Loewen was a Mennonite educator, writer and minister, who was born 19 March 1863 (Russian Calendar) in Chortitza, South Russia, and died 2 June 1946 in Stuartburn, Manitoba. The son of Gerhard G. and Sara (Wiebe) Löwen, he married Maria Derksen in 1884 and together they had 13 children. He was educated at the Zentralschule, and the normal school of Chortitza, after which he received a certificate for elementary teaching. After some additional training under A. A. Neufeld he received a private tutor's diploma with German as his major at Ekaterinoslav. At the age of 18 he began his teaching career, serving at Einlage (two years), Neuhorst (three years), Neu-Osterwick (eight years), Rosental Ratzyn, Chortitza (1903), again Einlage (nine years), and Arkadak (three years). In 1896 he received a silver medal with a red Alexander ribbon "For outstanding Service." In 1912 he joined the new settlement at Arkadak, Saratov, living in the village of Leonidovka.
In 1925 Loewen immigrated to Canada, where he taught at the Mennonite Educational Institute at Altona, Manitoba for two years. In 1927 he joined his children at Stuartburn, Manitoba, devoting his time to the instruction of German and Bible to children in the community.
Loewen was elected as a minister of the Chortitza Mennonite congregation in 1896. In addition to his work as teacher and minister, Loewen was a poet and writer. His articles and poems were published in numerous periodicals in Russia, Germany and Canada. In 1895 he published a collection of poems, entitled Feldblumen (Halbstadt). After this he collaborated with M. Fast and Penner to make Fröhliche Weihnachten (Halbstadt), a collection of plays and poems for use in school Christmas programs. In 1906 he published Eine Ferienreise (H. Lenzmamn, Gross-Tokmak) and in 1946 released a second enlarged edition of Feldblumen (Steinbach, MB, 1946).
Bibliography
Dyck, Arnold. "The Poet Gerhard Loewen." Mennonite Life 3 (January 1948): 22 f.
| Author(s) | Arnold Dyck |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Dyck, Arnold. "Loewen, Gerhard (1863-1946)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Loewen,_Gerhard_(1863-1946)&oldid=89048.
APA style
Dyck, Arnold. (1957). Loewen, Gerhard (1863-1946). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Loewen,_Gerhard_(1863-1946)&oldid=89048.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 386. All rights reserved.
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