Besides his loving wife, Lydia Thiessen, John is survived by his children: Claire (James) Penner, Del (Lynda) Thiessen, and Derryl (Sandy) Thiessen; seven grandchildren: Elya (Matt) Bergen, Erick (Jelisa) Penner, Tajaira (Dustin) Thiessen, Tiare Thiessen, Morgan (Justin) Thiessen, Ben Thiessen, and Casey Thiessen; and two great grandchildren: Ezra Penner and Levi Penner. He is also survived by siblings Elizabeth (John) Traber, Tina Erion, and Ernie (Elsie) Thiessen.

A Memorial Service will be held at the EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH OF LETHBRIDGE, 4717 – 24 Avenue South, Lethbridge, AB, on Wednesday, December 13th at 11:00 A.M. Lethbridge Evangelical Free Church. The Interment will be held at the Coaldale Mennonite Cemetery at 9:00 A.M.

John was born to Jacob and Mary Thiessen in a Coaldale farmhouse on July 24, 1932. He was the eighth child, and had to fit in quickly to life in a big family. He was influenced by parents who lived with a tremendous sense of freedom and sorrow as they had immigrated from a country no longer friendly to them. The Thiessen family was part of a large Mennonite community who supported one another and met at least twice a week to honor and serve the God that brought them here.

Life on the farm was full of adventure for John. He asked to start milking cows at age eight, and after that, he never stopped working. He and his siblings also enjoyed the freedom to be creative, and John often talked proudly about the bicycle that he fixed up with a wash machine motor so that he could rod around the farm. The children swam in the farm lake and it became the place where the neighbor kids got together and learned how to swim. Mealtime happened around a huge table, as two more siblings arrived, and John’s mom and sisters worked hard to put enough food on the table for the competitive hungry boys. The “superbowl” was to them the bowl where their mother mixed the dough for “zwiebach”.

John went to school in Coaldale. One story he loved to tell was about the school bus getting stuck one winter morning. All of the boys on the bus were instructed to get out and push. Together, they quickly decided to hold the bus back, instead of push, and the bus driver was more than frustrated with that little crew. They never did make it to school that day, and thoroughly enjoyed their day off!

John was an independent thinker in many ways. He liked to push the envelope and when things did not feel authentic to him, he chose another way. He found a way to date Lydia by picking her up behind the hospital where she worked, even though dating was highly discouraged in his community. He was the first to venture out on a honeymoon after they were married. He and Lydia and some friends later started a chapel in the town of Coaldale to reach out to the community, that was loved by many, and frowned upon by some of the higher-ups.

John worked hard to create something out of the farm that his dad had pioneered. He got rid of the chickens and the milking cows and ventured into feeding cattle. His entrepreneurial spirit connected him with some of the other feeders in the area, but after that went south, and he mostly lost everything, he began to lean heavily on His God. The morning after things fell apart, a man drove onto the farmyard, and asked John whether he would custom feed for him. And after that things exploded. John loved his work, and the many men that worked for him on that feedlot, and had many stories to tell of God’s protection on that place. After John’s feedlot days, he got involved in the development of the Couleecreek area of Lethbridge, which was also very life-giving for him.

John and Lydia had three children, Claire, Del and Derryl. John loved his family dearly, and created many ways for them to enjoy life. The trees in the yard supported many a swing, and the children were allowed to ride along on the feed wagon. He helped create forts and hallways inside the stacks of hay, especially when nieces and nephews came over, and he kept the dune buggies in running condition and full of farm gas.

Vacations began to become more frequent as business improved. The first trip with his family of five was a flight to Ottawa, and then Hawaii. He would tell his kids that when they got married and had their own children, the vacations would continue. And he kept that promise. He often said these trips never cost him anything. They were just an investment. One of the last vacations he took his family on (now eighteen people) was an Alaskan cruise just before Covid. He treasured that memory, and the puzzle on his wall with photos of that trip.

John was always a cheerleader for his children. Whatever they did, he was 100% behind them: connecting an outdoor hose to hot water so the boys could warm up after jello-wrestling, giving money to help them get to Indonesia or to Thailand, supporting their education, or creating business opportunities. John was also an avid cheerleader for the friends of his children, and Kendall (and Ralph) Gilker became a very important part of his family.

John (and Lydia) also travelled to see what God was doing across the world through the Canadian Christian Embassy and other mission organizations. John visited places such as Nicaragua, Paraguay, Finland, Italy, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and the Ukraine and connected with the locals and with political and business leaders in those places. John’s passion was to let people know about the generous offer of Jesus, whether that was through conversations with people across the street or across the world.

John took his marriage very seriously. He loved Lydia with all of his heart, and he did everything in his power to bless her and to give her what she needed. When money was tight in the early years, he insisted on giving her money to buy new shoes even though he couldn’t really afford it. He never wanted to be apart from her for long. The most difficult part of the trips he did alone was being away from Lydia.

John always prayed that if he wasn’t raptured, he would be able to pass away in his sleep, like his brother Jake. He got his wish. The day before he passed away, he was chauffeuring mom around the city so she could do her errands, driving his Ford F150. That evening he was disappointed that the Christine Sinclair final soccer game had bumped his favorite show, Jeopardy. He and mom had a couple games of Quirkle instead, and then watched Tribal Trails, as they usually did, before going to bed. His clothes were laid out for the morning, but he woke up on the other side.

We will miss John. We will all miss John very much. He had a sense of presence that made those around him feel like everything would be alright. He is now in the presence of Jesus, and he has all that he was hoping for. He said, several months ago, “I’m glad I don’t know when I am going, because if I did, I would be so excited I would not be able to stand it.”

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Great Commission Media Ministries at https://gcmministries.ca/ or to Candle in the Darkness at https://calvarycommunity.ca/ (under the Give tab select Candle in the Darkness to provide practical resources for the refuges in Edmonton).