Fonds PP - Esther Bergen fonds

Esther Cathryn Klaassen was born in Morden, Manitoba, on June 18, 1921, to Michael and Katherine (Dalke) Klaassen. Michael was the minister of Herold Mennonite Church, and his father, Martin Klaassen, was a church leader in Russia before him. Despite financial barriers, Esther attended high school at Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna, Manitoba, and later also attended the Mennonite Brethren Bible College in Winnipeg, studying the Bible, music and German. She married Menno Bergen in 1952, and together they spent 13 years serving in Mexico under the Commission for Overseas Missions of the General Conference Mennonite Church. They also served the church and its organizations in Gretna, Taber, Alberta, and Herbert, Saskatchewan. They retired to Winnipeg in 1984, where they attended Bethel Mennonite Church. Throughout her life, Esther was heavily involved in music, both as a teacher, and as a translator of hymn texts. She translated from German, English and Spanish for hymnbooks, Mennonite World Conference songbooks and the Gospel Light Hour. She also led church activities and translated Sunday School Materials. In her later years, she organized her family's genealogical records. Esther died on March 1, 2005 in Winnipeg.