MaryAnn Bartel (nee Banman), on April 6, 2024, found the rest she had been longing for at the end of a long, fruitful life. Now reflecting on her life, in grateful sadness, are her children: Sandra (Henry) Janzen, Vera (Hank) Weber, Philip Bartel, and Russell Bartel (Bridget Givogue); five grandchildren: Kristina Janzen (Peter Braun), David Janzen (Katherine Lawless), Robert Janzen (Hailey Winder), Melissa Weber, Jessica Weber (Nolan Skowronski); four greatgrandchildren; and numerous relatives and friends.

MaryAnn was born on November 4, 1929 to Samuel and Selma Banman in Peabody, Kansas, the fifth of 10 children, of whom three died in early childhood. She was raised in the poverty of the 1930’s, but nevertheless enjoyed an active, nurturing childhood, rich in the love of bustling family and community. After graduating from high school in Goessel, she worked briefly as receptionist before embarking on a Voluntary Service assignment with Mennonite Central Committee at a youth farm in distant Rosthern, Saskatchewan. There she met Melfred Bartel, a student at the Rosthern Bible School, whom she married in 1955. The couple settled on a farm near Drake, Saskatchewan, where they raised field crops, livestock, and, eventually, large flocks of laying hens, whose output they sold door-to-door in nearby communities. Here, also, they raised their four children, who cherish countless memories of family adventures and happiness on the farm. In 1975, the family moved into the village of Drake, where MaryAnn and Melfred lived contentedly until Melfred’s infirmities forced his move to Central Parkland Lodge, Lanigan. After Melfred passed away in 2005, MaryAnn remained in Drake for another decade until, needing more family support, she relocated to Coaldale, Alberta, where she lived until her passing.

MaryAnn’s character was marked by an unflinching resolve for productivity. She worked tirelessly alongside her husband, whose mobility was affected by spina bifida, often providing the agility he lacked. And so her life was hectic, with activities varied and demanding: picking raspberries, tending vegetable gardens, herding cows, feeding chickens, processing eggs, among all the other demands of a growing family.

And it was to her family that MaryAnn offered her fervent, unrelenting devotion. She was adept at maintaining a tidy, efficient household, usually under frugal conditions. Her highest joy was creating meals, memorable to this day, for her family. When Philip was born with special needs, she took on that responsibility without a whisper of complaint, persevering through the many family hardships without hesitation. And when Melfred’s disabilities forced the discontinuance of farming, she willingly accepted employment at the Lanigan Hospital to help support the family. Never did Melfred or the children doubt her tenacious willingness to nourish and sustain them.

Despite the endless demands, MaryAnn still managed to develop other interests and passions. She enjoyed hosting family and friends, bestowing on them fabulous feasts – ‘just something simple,’ she would say, over a lavish assembly of delicious nourishments. And she was renowned for her elegant stitchery, crafting innumerable quilts – fine art, more than mere comfortable bedding. Each of the children and grandchildren were bequeathed with such exquisite tapestries, all cherished now as an expression of her love.

From childhood on, MaryAnn nurtured a lifelong devotedness to God, reflected in a humble commitment to serving others, an unrelenting trust, and a dedicated meditative spirit. Her faith sustained her through the vicissitudes of her life, perhaps especially in recent years, as her mobility and socializing gradually waned.

MaryAnn was one of those hidden heroes, toiling quietly, modestly in the background far from public view or adulation. And yet, more perhaps than some less humble, she leaves a towering legacy, girded by strength of purpose and varnished with love. It is a legacy now embedded in those who knew her; a legacy that will only grow as her family reflects on the person she became and remains today, forever in their memory and into the unfolding beyond.     

We, MaryAnn’s family, acknowledge those who offered countless gestures of support and kindness, especially in her later years: the gracious staff of the Sunny South Lodge who cared for her, the friends who visited her, and the relatives from afar who cheered her with letters, calls, and visits. MaryAnn was ensconced in a web of nurturing connections, for which we offer gratitude.