Marie Wiens

Marie K. Wiens, 87, died May 23, 2009, in Hillsboro.

Born July 9, 1921, in Rosenhof, a small village in the Mennonite Siavgorod settlement in Siberia, Russia, she was the daughter of Henry and Katherina (Fast) Klassen.

When authorities threatened her father’s life during the Communist takeover in Russia, the family escaped in 1929 across a frozen Amur River into China where they lived for 11 months. In 1930, they were granted permission to emigrate to the U.S., settling in Reedley, Calif.

She married Frank Wiens in 1946. The following year, the couple went to Germany with Mennonite Central Committee, working with refugees in the aftermath of WWII. They lived in Paraguay, completing their overseas work in 1965 when they moved to Hillsboro.

Her husband, Frank, preceded her in death.

Survivors include a son, Glenn Wiens of Wichita; three daughters, Rebecca Penner of Wichita, Marcia Wiens of Boulder, Colo., and Miriam Holmes of Louisville, Colo.; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church.