Obituary of Emma Jahns

EMMA JAHNS (nee Disterheft) Sept 2, 1923 – Dec 2, 2020 It is with sorrow, much love, and relief that we announce the passing of Emma Jahns on December 2, 2020, at the age of 97. She is survived by her three sons Randy (Bernie), Alvin (Bev) and Doug (Colleen), her six grandchildren, Nicole (Daryl), Stacy (Sharlene), Cari (Pat), Kerbi, Kirstin (Erwin) and Graeme (Joanne), as well as eight great grandchildren Brittney, Ava, Miriam, Timothy, Hudson, Charlie, Arya and Gavin. She was predeceased by her husband, Albert Jahns, in 1986. Emma was prepared for her departure and frequently emphasized that she had a full and complete life. Emma’s life priorities focussed on serving her church, family, and community. She was a devout supporter of the Lutheran and United churches in Forestburg, a dedicated mother, grandmother and great grandmother, and an ardent supporter of her local community. Emma immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of 5. They settled in the Forestburg area where Emma would live the remainder of her life in the community she loved, attending Forestburg school, and later marrying her husband Albert in 1944. Together they farmed in the Forestburg area until 1970 when they retired and moved into town. In retirement she lived a very active life both mentally and physically, living by the mantra, “if you don’t use it you lose it”. That meant yoga at home, regular exercise classes at the Villa, painting her house, gardening and maintaining her yard. It included singing in church and community choirs (including her favorite, “The Walter Jahns Singers”). It involved activities ranging from reading the bible, to watching news on television, to preparing and filing her own income tax returns. Family telephone visits would frequently cover her involvement in community activities like serving coffee at the drop-in at the Villa, maintenance work at the Forestburg Cemetery, and her thankfulness for and her pride in the local businesses that provided grocery, hardware, automobile, green house, florist, handy man, and countless other maintenance services … often lamenting that she was sure they didn’t charge her enough, and how absolutely wonderful they were, and how very fortunate Forestburg was to have them. It was always “buy local” if you can, in order that these services can continue to exist. While in her final hospital stay, Emma expressed the pride she had in her sons and their families. She also recounted the most enjoyable and gratifying experiences which involved her participation in catering and baking for community events. She loved cooking and catering, and she loved to bake and decorate cakes, getting fully engrossed in the art of decorating, and accepting nothing less than perfection in the end-product. She was proud of the fact she decorated cakes that went to all the provinces of western Canada, the U.S and as far away as Europe. She relished the fact she still received thank you notes from couples for whom she had decorated wedding cakes over 50 years ago. She asked again that we thank her church, her friends, her neighbours, her nieces and nephews, and her community for allowing her to have such a fulfilled life. Thank you all!