Friesen, Helena Dueck (1876-1914)

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Helena Dueck Friesen, Mennonite pioneer, was born on 4 July 1876 in Grünfeld, Manitoba, Canada. She was the fifth of eight surviving children born to Abraham L. Dueck (1841-1899) and Elisabeth Rempel (1841-1901). Helena was baptized into the membership of the Kleine Gemeinde. In 1894 she married Klaas R. Friesen (1870-1942) whose first wife had died in childbirth earlier that year. Together they had ten children, nine of which survived to adulthood. Helena died suddenly on 27 May 1914.

Helena was remembered as a person with a cheerful disposition but in most respects remains a shadowy figure. Like many pioneer women she was a person of simple faith with only a very basic elementary education who put her time and energy into raising children, helping with farm chores and caring for her husband. In the past such women have often been overlooked but more recently we have come to understand that without the hard work, self sacrifice and constant faith of such "ordinary" women it would not have been possible to settle the Canadian West.

Bibliography

Friesen, Ralph. "Helena Dueck Friesen: Die Gutmütige." Preservings No. 10 Part II (June 1997): 36-37.

Author(s)	Sharon H. H Brown
Date Published	June 2006

Cite This Article

MLA style

Brown, Sharon H. H. "Friesen, Helena Dueck (1876-1914)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2006. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Friesen,_Helena_Dueck_(1876-1914)&oldid=87595.

APA style

Brown, Sharon H. H. (June 2006). Friesen, Helena Dueck (1876-1914). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Friesen,_Helena_Dueck_(1876-1914)&oldid=87595.

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