Jacob Jakovlevitch Friesen died Jan. 8, 2010. He was born Mar. 30, 1929 in Schoenhorst, Ukraine to Jacob and Elisabeth Friesen. Jacob’s bed-ridden grandmother Wieler taught him to read German and Russian before he went to school. At 14, he was sent to teacher’s college in Kiev, but his schooling was interrupted by WWII and the resulting evacuation, with his family, to Germany. Ending up in the Russian zone in 1945, they were re-evacuated to the Soviet Union and settled on a cooperative farm in Siberia, where life was very hard. Two of Jacob’s siblings died. Jacob married Frieda Penner in 1953. In 1958, they moved to Tajikistan. Having recently given his life to the Lord, Jacob and Frieda participated in an underground church and were baptized in secret in Kairakum Lake in 1959. They served as a preacher and deacons. After 15 years of trying to join Frieda’s father in Canada, Jacob and Frieda arrived in Vancouver in 1972. They became established in a new home, learned English, and became members of King Road MB Church, where they served as deacons. Jacob worked as a welder until 1985. In 1991, he began work for Logos International, participating in the building of Bible schools in the former Soviet Union. Jacob read widely in German, Russian, and English and told many stories from his life experience. After retirement, he visited shut-ins until his health deteriorated. He maintained a grateful and loving attitude, greetings visitors with a firm grip, smiling eyes, and a beaming face, even after he lost the ability to speak. Predeceased by infant daughter Louise, grandson Marcus, 2 siblings; Jacob is mourned by Frieda; children Rudy (Trudy), Henry (Herta), Frieda (Harold) Janzen, Ed (Jane Oldham), Erika (Richard Ratzlaff), Mari (Aschi Amstutz), Art; 9 grandchildren; 1 great-grandson; 1 sister, 2 brothers.
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