Bergen, Isby, 1908-2001

Person

Bergen, Isby, 1908-2001

• Bergen, Elizabeth, 1908-2001
• Bergen, Elizabeth "Isby", 1908-2001

1908-2001

Elizabeth “Isby” Bergen (1908-2001) was born in March of 1908 and was adopted by Gerhard Bergen (1864-1931) and Elisabeth Dyck (1875-1967) that same month in Hague, Saskatchewan, Canada. In her early childhood, her family moved several times, first to Osler, Saskatchewan in 1913, then to Long Beach and Reedly, California, next was Winnipeg, Manitoba and then Engen, British Columbia in 1918, finally to Gretna, Manitoba in 1922. She was baptized in 1927 at the Edenberg Bergthaler Mennonite Church by Bishop Jacob Hoeppner. In 1928, her parents were asked to be house parents for the Old Folks Home in Gretna, where they met and befriended Mary Martens. After Gerhard’s death in 1931, Elisabeth and Isby continued to work at the home until its closure, when they then took in Mary Martens (1918-2006), a young girl at the time who was mentally challenged, as a family member.
In 1941, Isby was invited to work at D.K. Friesens for the Altona Echo, which would later become the Red River Valley Echo, collecting news and writing and editing articles. She moved to Altona, Manitoba that year, and lived with several families in the area until her mother and Mary moved to Altona as well in 1944. Isby worked for D.W. Friesens until her retirement in 1985, and even afterwards she was called back to work to fill in. Isby Bergen never married nor had any children, but she was an avid supporter of music, art, poetry and was a well-known member of many groups and organizations in her community. After her mother’s death in 1967, she moved to the Southbend Apartments until 2000, when she broke her hip and underwent surgery. After being hospitalized several more times, she passed away in the hospital in November of 2001. She was survived by Mary Martens, as well as her close relatives and friends.

Altona (Manitoba)

GRANDMA ID: 783656

rev. Jan. 2023 by AHR, Aug 16, 2024 by CDS.

ELIZABETH (ISBY) BERGEN, Winnipeg Free Press Passages, 3 Nov 2001. Elizabeth (Isby) Bergen. Findagrave.com.