Enns, Peter (1933-2022)
Peter Herman Enns: public school teacher/administrator and churchman; born on 8 December 1933 in Beechy, Saskatchewan, Canada. His parents were John Heinrich Enns (8 September 1898 – 15 October 1979) and Anna (Loewen) Enns (1 March 1900 – 24 August 1956). Peter was the ninth of twelve children. On 20 August 1955 he married Johanna "Joan" Susan Loewen, daughter of Peter D. Loewen (1902-1993) and Anna (Redekopp) Loewen (1907-1994), in Yarrow Mennonite Brethren Church. Peter and Joan had four children: Douglas, Dale, Christine, and Charleen. Peter died on 3 March 2022 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, with his memorial service taking place at the Bakerview MB Church on 29 March 2022.
Peter grew up in Beechy, Saskatchewan. In 1944, when Peter was 11 years old, the Enns family moved to Abbotsford, British Columbia. He attended Philip Sheffield Elementary School, and then grades 8 through 13 at Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI).
Peter was baptized on 2 August 1953, thus becoming a member of the Clearbrook Mennonite Brethren Church. On 20 August 1955 he married Joan Loewen, whom he had met at MEI.
To prepare for his chosen career, Peter attended the obligatory year of teacher preparation at Vancouver Normal School. Subsequently, he earned his BA degree at the University of British Columbia, majoring in history. In 1968 he completed his Master of Education at Western Washington University.
Peter spent his entire teaching career in Mission, BC, School District #75. For 16 years he taught in both elementary and secondary schools, and then worked nineteen years in administration. He retired from his career in 1990, after 35 years of service, which he profoundly enjoyed.
Throughout his adult life, Peter was a dedicated churchman. In 1965 he and his wife Joan became charter members of the newly established Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church in Abbotsford, BC; he remained a member until his death. His contributions to this church included being Sunday school superintendent, member of the church council, and council moderator for eight years. For a decade Joan and he were members of the Current Issues team, planning weekly adult Sunday school sessions on topics current to the church. Both in their local congregation and in most of Peter’s volunteering work, Peter and Joan were ministry partners.
Beyond participating in the local church, at various times Peter served as recording secretary in both the British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches and the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. Peter was also generous in sharing his musical talents, singing in various choirs and for some time in the King’s Messengers Quartet.
His retirement was filled with volunteering. For some years he was on the board of Tabor Home (later Tabor Village; a senior’s residence in Abbotsford), becoming board chair in 1991. In 1992-1993 he was interim director of Stillwood Camp and Conference Centre at Lindell Beach, BC, and in the same year he was the administrator of the International Baccalaureate Program at Abbotsford Senior Secondary School.
In 1994-1995 he was interim president of Lithuania Christian College, later Lithuania International University, and then continued teaching at the school for two more years. In 1999 Peter was appointed Associate Dean of the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, where he assisted in bringing MBBS into a consortium of schools known as the Association of Christian Theological Seminaries (ACTS). In this capacity he was able to establish matching grants for seminary students in partnership with the Canadian Mennonite Brethren Conference. Peter also enjoyed volunteering as docent for visitors to the extensive displays at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford.
Peter was a man with a gentle disposition and a generous heart, who left a legacy of caring for all with whom he came in contact.
Bibliography
Enns, Douglas. "Peter Enns." Personal e-mail (18 January 2023).
Enns, Joan. Interview by author. Abbotsford, BC (17 January 2023).
"Peter Enns: Obituary." Abbotsford News (3 March 2022). https://www.abbynews.com/obituaries/peter-enns-2/.
| Author(s) | David Giesbrecht |
|---|---|
| Date Published | May 2023 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Giesbrecht, David. "Enns, Peter (1933-2022)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2023. Web. 25 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Enns,_Peter_(1933-2022)&oldid=175543.
APA style
Giesbrecht, David. (May 2023). Enns, Peter (1933-2022). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Enns,_Peter_(1933-2022)&oldid=175543.
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