Funeral services for 95-year-old Salome Anna (Janzen) Penner will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, April 9, 2015, at Lakeview Gospel Church in Mountain Lake. The church is located at 1002 10th Street North.
Interment will be in the Cornerstone Cemetery (formerly Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Cemetery) in rural Mountain Lake, located on the west side of 570th Avenue, south of 360th Street and north of 10th Street/Cottonwood County Road #9.
Pastor LeRoy Reynolds will officiate at the services, with Pastor Nathan Janzen serving as co-celebrant.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, at Sturm Funeral Home-Mountain Lake Chapel, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The funeral home is located at 420 10th Street North. Another visitation will be held at the church the day of the funeral service from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Salome Penner passed away on Wednesday, April 1, 2015, in Windom, Minnesota after suffering a debilitating stroke two weeks earlier.
Salome Penner, daughter of Peter V. and Aganetha (Wall) Janzen, was born at the family home in Lustre, Montana on June 17, 1919. Her education consisted of country school through the 8th grade at Center Bell School on her father’s land.
On September 11, 1932, she was baptized by Elder Abram C. Wall upon confession of her faith and was received into membership of the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church also called the Bruderthaler Church of Mountain Lake, Minnesota, through whose conference she remained a life long member, serving faithfully in a variety of ways.
The family moved to Mountain Lake in 1933, Mora, Minnesota in 1934 and back to Mountain Lake in 1937. She attended the Mountain Lake Bible School for two winters.
On June 25, 1941, Salome was united in marriage to Peter D. Penner of Butterfield, Minnesota, at the Evangelical Mennonite Brethern Church near Mountain Lake – the old church in the “valley.” After their marriage they farmed two miles north of Mountain Lake until their move in 1978 to another farmyard 1/2 mile from Mountain Lake.
They were blessed with six children – five sons and a daughter – and 54 years of marriage.
Salome was a most gracious hostess and entertained many missionaries, family and friends, with not only exquisite meals and faspas ,but Russian/German Mennonite cooking and culture, being most at home speaking in low-German.
She will be remembered by her family for her deep Christlike love for each child individually, her prayers and love for God’s Word, being able to recite many passages and teaching each of her children the ways of the Lord, and leading them to a personal saving knowledge of Him. This was done not only through faithful church attendance, but kneeling to pray as a family each evening and reading scripture together – morning and evening.
Her other hobbies include gardening, preserving great amounts for each winter’s meals; handwork; reading and music, especially hearing the singing and playing of hymns on the piano, organ, violin and other classical instruments.
Preceding her in death were her parents; her husband; daughter-in-law, Eileen Penner; brother, Rudy Janzen and sister, Justina Hiebert.
Those who will cherish her memory are her sons, David of Beit Shemesh, Israel, Leonard of Mountain Lake, Paul (Pamala) of Lincoln, Nebraska, Joel (Bernice) of Butterfield and Jonathan (Kathy) of Mountain Lake; her daughter, Rachel (Adeeb) Mickahail of Bluemont, Virginia; 20 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; one brother, Richard (Darlene) Janzen of Butterfield; two sisters, Elizabeth Whisenhaunt of Fairbanks, Alaska and Roberta (Jim) Gingerich of Moundsridge, Kansas; one sister-in-law, Martha Hockel of Golden Valley, Minnesota and many neices, nephews, cousins, and friends.