As a child, Margaret enjoyed baseball. A year after her mother’s death, Margaret gained a caring stepmother. Margaret accepted Jesus as Saviour at an evangelistic meeting. She attended school until Grade 8, then stayed home to help on their dairy farm. She first met Abe picking flowers when she was 3. When they married, he had $200 and a cow. They started their abattoir in Ste. Anne, Man., and in 1957, established it in Blumenort, Man., as Bergmann Meat Products. Margaret was a wonderful partner, and they worked long hours together. In retirement, they build a small farm near Ste. Anne. Margaret served Steinbach MB Church by quilting, baking cookies for camp, folding bulletins and taking people out for pizza. After Abe was diagnosed with cancer in 1994, he moved Margaret closer to her sisters in Steinbach. (Known as the “perishky sisters,” they delivered fresh meat buns to hurting friends.) He also asked his friend Bill Lepp to take care of Margaret after he was gone. Abe’s death left a void, but Margaret kept her family strong through prayer and kindness. She encouraged them with a fist pump and “keep on keeping on.”
