Congratulations to Menno & Mary

Menno & Mary 40th Anniversary Celebration 10/10/10

The Romance that Stumbled, then Blossomed

Congratulations on 40 years of living, loving, and sharing life together! You have been blessed to have each other; to have a family of children who love Jesus; and you continue to be a blessing to thousands.

I so much wish we could be with you on this day of celebration, but unfortunately business concerns have made that impossible. We hope that we can visit soon.

Growing up, my Dueck cousin Menno and I spent as much time together as we could. I remember when we put traps on top of fence posts in our pasture. We hoped to trap birds and one robin was unlucky enough to get caught.

We spent hours wandering all over our pastures and spent entire days in the mountains trying to find a gold mine. We explored caves and dug for gold in the mountain creeks. We never did find our pot of gold. We did, however, encounter big rattlesnakes and many other dangers but managed to return home without serious injury.

We attended Ebenfeld school together. I think our favorite class was English. Our least favorite part of grade 7 was our teacher.

Growing up, my Plett Cousin Mary's brother Victor and I spent as much time together as we could. We lived a few kilometers from each other; just over the hill. So we visited back and forth - Corny, Peter, Victor and I. We rode our horses and admired the caterpillar tractor that got stuck on the road between our homes. I remember Mary and Leona always being together and always cheerful. We saw each other a lot at family gatherings.

When I was 14 my family moved to Canada. We kept in touch by mail.

For Christmas of 1967 my family travelled to Mexico. When we got there we spent lots of wonderful time visiting both sides of my family. At some point during that time, I asked Menno what he thought of my Plett cousin Mary. His first response was that he had thought about her a lot. He’d like me to make some inquiries of her next time I saw her. Her response was positive, and so a romance was born.

If I remember correctly, they corresponded with me for some time by mail and I continued the role of matchmaker from Canada. At some point one of them thought this would no longer work. I kept encouraging them to keep at it and then one day they got married! I may have those letters somewhere, but I’m not sure where. If I find them, I will hand deliver them when we come to visit.

Over the years we have kept in touch, but not nearly often enough. Menno, Mary, both of you are dear to my heart.

I remember your visits to Canada and our visit to Mexico almost 20 years ago. I assume you got a copy of the video I took when we were there?

Climbing the “Steile Boajch” (steep mountain) with your family and ours, has been a very pleasant memory since then.

I wish you both all the best and many more happy and fulfilling years together.

Love and Hugs

Raymond & Martha Dueck