Obituary of Agnes Louise Peters

To view the livestream of the funeral please click on this link:  https://youtube.com/live/JhpBV6Oynx8?feature=share.

PETERS, Agnes Louise (Koop)

June 25, 1929 – January 15, 2024

It is with a deep sadness that the family of Agnes Peters announces her passing on  Monday, January 15, 2024. Agnes was born on June 25, 1929, to Henry and Maria Koop in a small farm house a few miles east of Dundurn, Saskatchewan. She grew up in the Pleasant Point Mennonite community, the second of six children, surrounded by a large extended family, and was baptised and became a member of the Pleasant Point Mennonite Church in 1947.  She graduated from Rosthern Junior College that same year and from Normal School the year following and for two years taught at Wall Lake School. In 1950, Agnes married Nickolai Peters, a civil engineer working for the PFRA, originally from the Sheldon Farm area west of Hanley. They spent their first few summers together at dam construction site camps in Alberta before settling permanently in Saskatoon. They raised four children: Gerald, Ronald, Robert, and Marina, and enjoyed regular extended family gatherings, camping trips, and other family vacations.

Agnes and Nick were charter members of Nutana Park Mennonite Church, where Agnes taught  Sunday school for many years, served on the board of deacons, and organized church social events. For almost 30 years she conducted a Saturday morning German school at the church that was very well attended. She loved music, played the piano, had a lovely soprano voice, and sang in the church choir regularly and as recently as last fall.  In later years she led a women’s ensemble, organized annual classical music concerts, and in her eighties even took voice lessons and began performing as a soloist.  Agnes enjoyed gardening, was an avid tennis fan, playing into her nineties, a proficient seamstress, and  a truly accomplished knitter. She never sat in front of the television without a knitting project in her hands.

Agnes and Nick instilled in their children a love of music, learning, and travel. A family vacation to Europe in 1970 sparked a veritable wanderlust in all of them. As the children grew up and moved away for jobs and education, Agnes and Nick took every opportunity for visits, whether to Alberta, Illinois, Texas, Maine, or New Mexico, as well as numerous return trips to Europe.

Agnes and Nick’s first grandchild was born in 1981; nine more followed; three more were  “adopted” in Germany. Although they lived some distance from all of them, they made the most of their visits and loved them all dearly. Agnes was proud of each one of her grandchildren for their accomplishments and how they faced life’s challenges. A true people person, she treasured her relationships and interactions with friends and family alike.  She was never happier than when she had guests gathered around her dining room table. Agnes had some difficult days, especially after her beloved husband Nickolai died in 1998, but she was buoyed by family, friends, faith, her church community, as well as by a fierce determination to live life to the fullest and by the love she had for so many people. Her advice to all in good times and bad was just to love, which is how she lived her life.

Agnes was predeceased by her parents; her husband Nick; daughter-in-law Lydia; brother Victor and his wife Herta; sister Margaret and her husband Edward  Peters; brother-in-law Henry Peters and his wife Frieda; and brothers-in-law Henry Harder, Helmute Dueck, and Wayne Crossley. She leaves to mourn, her children Gerald (Anita), Ronald, Robert (Charlotte), and Marina (Tim); her grandchildren, Sarah (Michael), Katherine, Lyndia (Aaron), Michael, Ryan, Brahm, Kaylee, Anicka, Zachary, and Alexander (Abby); “adopted” grandchildren, Joanita, Briana, and Martin-Devid; a great grandson, Calder; sisters Hedie Harder (George), Melita Crossley (Frank), and Marlene (David) Froese; sister-in-law Ella Dueck; numerous nieces and nephews; and many other relatives and friends.

A visitation will be held at Nutana Park Mennonite Church on Tuesday, January 23, at 7:00 p.m.

The funeral service will take place at the Nutana Park Mennonite Church on Wednesday, January 24, at 11:00 a.m. 

To view the livestream of the funeral please visit https://youtube.com/live/jhpBV6Oynx8?feature=share.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Mennonite Central  Committee (mcc.org).