Mary Lowen

1932 - 2022

 Mary Lowen, beloved wife of the late Peter Lowen passed away in Taber on Friday, February 18, 2022 at the age of 89 years.

 The funeral service was held at Southland Funeral Chapel, Taber on Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 1:00 P.M. Burial followed at the Vauxhall Mennonite Cemetery.

Mary is survived by her four children, Walter (Audrey, née Patershuk) Sukkau of Banjul, Gambia, Africa, David Lowen of Leduc, Ann-Marie (Paul) Mathers (née Sukkau) of Lethbridge and George Lowen of Okotoks; seven grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother David (Ruth, née Rempel) Martens of Coaldale and by numerous members of her extended family.

She was predeceased by her eldest daughter Caroline Zaretski (née Sukkau, wife of Erroll of Lethbridge); siblings Bernard Martens (of Swan River, Manitoba), Katherine Schulz (née Martens, wife of Jacob of Vauxhall), Helen Blair (née Martens, wife of Duncan of Fort Macleod), Jacob Martens (husband of Elsie, née Betcher of Swan River, Manitoba), Henry Martens (husband of Kay, née Berg of Taber), George Martens (husband of Ilene, née Larter of Kenora, Ontario), Sara Gaskell (née Martens, wife of Glen of Lethbridge), John Martens (in infancy), Susan Kimura (née Martens, wife of Seiji of Coaldale) and William Martens (husband of Katherine, née Rempel of Kitchener, Ontario).

Mary was born in Osler, Saskatchewan on October 26, 1932. She was the seventh of twelve children born to Maria (née Krahn) and Henry Martens who were married on July 15, 1923. The family’s early years were spent in Osler, Saskatchewan, Hague, Saskatchewan and Mayfair, Saskatchewan. In 1937, the family moved to White Beech, Saskatchewan, where they farmed and ran a sawmill until 1945 when the family moved to Barnwell.

She married Warner Sukkau on June 20, 1953. They farmed together north of Bow Island until his unexpected passing at the age of forty two on May 6, 1968, leaving Mary with five young children, the youngest, barely three months old. She sold the farm and moved into Bow Island, where she got a job at a local bakery, Sitzema’s Bakery. Mary married Peter Lowen on August 8, 1975 and moved to the farm in Vauxhall where the three youngest children spent their formative years.

Mary loved being on a farm again. She grew her gardens and flower beds with much love. She got involved in the farmers’ markets and won many ribbons at the Lethbridge exhibition. She sewed, macramed, took courses about flowers and freely moved walls and renovated her home. The smell of fresh bread, donuts, pies and cabbage rolls was always in the air. Mary and Pete enjoyed many wonderful years together until his passing in 2020.

Mary loved to read. She loved to learn and she enjoyed learning about the Bible and had a strong faith. Mary spent abundant time with her grandkids as they came along. She loved them all.

Time passes by and is not kind to anyone. Mary eventually needed more care and was admitted to Linden View in Taber. She fit in well, making friends easily. The staff loved her and called her ‘Mighty Mary’. She always bounced back after mishaps. On February 18, 2022, Mary died peacefully in her sleep. The family are grateful to the staff at Linden View for their loving care.