July 29, 1910 – November 14th, 2010
Peter Gerhard Baergen was born in the Terek in South Russia on July 29, 1910; the eldest son and fifth surviving child of Gerhard and Maria Baergen. Peter recalled a very happy young childhood until 1917 when growing political unrest and armed rebels forced his parents to pack up their family and flee from their home to a (still) safer place where their extended family lived. Due to civil war and religious persecution under the new communist regime the family emigrated from the USSR to Canada in 1925, initially settling in the Chinook area of SE Alberta. In 1935 the family moved again, this time to Tofield where they became charter members of the Tofield Mennonite Church and where they once again took up farming. In time Peter was able to purchase a property west of Tofield where he farmed until 1960 when he moved into the town of Tofield to care for his ageing parents. In 1977 he sold his house and became a “charter resident” of the brand new Tofield Lodge. He spent 28 ½ very happy years in this facility before moving into the Tofield Extended Care facility in 2006. Our family extends our deep appreciation to the staff at the Lodge and Extended Care Facility for your care for our beloved Uncle over these many years.
Peter was predeceased by his parents, Gerhard and Maria Baergen; siblings, Maria and Jacob Derksen, Elizabeth and David Boese, Anna and Leonard Adrian, Susan and Peter Thiessen, Henry and Mary Baergen, Tena and George Franz; sister-in-law Audrey Bargen, Frank Baergen and John Baergen.
He is survived by his brother Gerhard Baergen (Brisbane, Australia) and sisters-in-law Helen Baergen of Tofield, Alberta and Lena Baergen Brandt of Abbotsford, B.C., as well as by a host of nieces and nephews and their families.
Uncle Peter will be remembered for his wonderful sense of humor and his gift of reaching across generations with love and acceptance.
A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, November 19, 2010 at Tofield Mennonite Church. Interment will follow at the Tofield Cemetery.