Dessie Wiebe, age 94, of De Smet, passed away Saturday, September 18, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Society at De Smet.

Her funeral service was held at 10:30 AM, Tuesday, September 21st, at the Faith Mennonite Church, rural Iroquois. Burial was in the Faith Mennonite Church Cemetery.

Dessie Wiebe, our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, was born January 30, 1927, to Abe H. and Lavina Becker Ratzlaff near Canton, Kansas. She peacefully passed away at the Good Samaritan Society in De Smet, South Dakota, on September 18, 2021, at 94 years of age. She enjoyed telling us stories about growing up on the Kansas farm in a family of thirteen children. Many happy and memorable times were spent with six brothers and six sisters.

Upon accepting Christ as her personal Savior, she was baptized into the Church of God In Christ Mennonite by Min. Jonas B. Koehn on January 14, 1940. She loved to sing with her brothers and sisters. In her youth years, Mom helped out at various homes in the community and worked at the Mercy Hospital in Moundridge, Kansas.

On September 25, 1949, Mom was joined in marriage to our dad, Roy E. Wiebe. They made their first home in the Inman, Kansas community. In 1953, they with their first two children, Dale and Marilyn, moved to a farm near Yale, South Dakota. They "pioneered" through some challenging years. They helped establish a new congregation at that time. Our parents enjoyed traveling and also entertaining many friends and relatives. They had a strong faith in God through the storms and tests of life.

Mom was very lonely when Dad left us in May of 1995. She kept herself busy volunteering, quilting, baking, and having company in her home. Grandma enjoyed doing special things with her grandchildren: going to rummage sales, buying playhouse furnishings, little treats, books and snacks. During the eight and a half years at the Good Samaritan Home, she made many friends and was loved by the staff and residents. We appreciate the care she received.

Grateful for having shared her life are her children, Marilyn and Kenneth Fricke, Grafton, North Dakota; Linda and Wesley Toews, De Smet, South Dakota; Delton and Valerie Wiebe Yale, South Dakota; Danny and Sharon Wiebe, Iroquois, South Dakota; eighteen grand-children and forty-five great-grandchildren; one brother, Noah Ratzlaff; brother-in-law, Stuart Wedel; Dad's family: Phyllis and Bev Toews, Linda Giesbrecht, and Milton and Cheryle Warkentin.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Roy; son, Dale; daughter-in-law, Victoria; six sisters; and five brothers.

View Dessie's Floral Arrangements