DUECK, Anna Johann (née Arendt)

November 21, 1932 — October 6, 2025

Anna Dueck, passed away at the age of ninety-two at Glenmore Lodge in Kelowna, B.C. where she was transferred in mid-August for long-term care. Previously, she was part of Chartwell Chatsworth assisted living community where she lived for over nine years since early 2016.

Most people knew her as Anne. To her three sons and three daughters, she is our dearly loved Mutti. She is a beloved Oma to her eight grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. She was cherished Tante Anne to her many nieces and nephews.

Anne will be greatly missed and remembered by her immediate family:
Daughter Lora (Doug) Janzen, and two grandchildren Jeremy Janzen, Mark Janzen (Lindsey Knights).
Daughter Elvira (Gord) Carlson; two grandchildren Miranda Khushalany (Glen), Craig Carlson (Krysanne); and five great-grandchildren Brooklyn Khushalany, Isbella, Jackson, Adelaide and Finley Carlson.
Son Erland (Linda) Dueck; two grandchildren Justin Dueck (Rebekah), Rebecca Dueck; and four great-grandchildren James, Elijah and Evelyn Dueck, and Jaxon Dueck-Howell­.
Son Ervin (Dianne) Dueck; one grandson Riley Dueck (Erin); and two great-grandchildren Penelope and Juliette Dueck.
Son Richard Dueck, and one granddaughter Alexa Dueck.
Daughter Heidi (Darcy) Ludwar.

Anne loved her family with her whole heart and especially enjoyed visits and hugs from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Anne will also be greatly missed by her extended family which includes her two youngest sisters, Mary Fehr and Margaret Arendt; her sisters-in-law, Mary Arendt, Annie Arendt, and Elisabeth Janzen; and many nieces and nephews, as well as many friends who were like family.

She was predeceased by her husband of 63 years, Eduard Dueck, who died January 25, 2017 (age 88); her parents; a sister, who died in infancy; and 6 brothers.

Anne often spoke of her faith, enjoyed her daily Bible reading, and longed for Heaven to be with Jesus. These last few years, in Heaven’s waiting room, were especially long and lonely. As her cognitive abilities declined, she retreated from socializing as it was difficult for her to have conversations with others at her assisted living home community. We grieve losing her presence with us, but rejoice that she no longer has any cognitive hindrances, mobility limitations, and is pain free. We can only imagine that she is dancing with Jesus and socializing with everyone she meets.

Anne was born in Glenbush, Saskatchewan, on November 21, 1932 to Johann Martin and Sara (née Block) Arendt, who immigrated to Canada from Russia. She was the first daughter born into the family of four brothers; another 2 sisters were added to the family along with a younger brother, Abe Arendt, who drowned tragically at 14 years of age on June 29, 1952. It was only during the last seven years of her life that she spoke in more detail about this traumatic loss and how it impacted her family.

Anne’s first language was low German. Evenings were spent listening to her Papa read the high German Bible stories to the family. She took great interest in standing beside her Papa as he read to the family after dinner. His fingers moved line by line as he read so she could follow along to learn to read Gothic German script. She loved reading her German Gothic script Bible every evening during her last years of life and scripture was a great comfort to her. She also loved to sing and had a beautiful voice. With the family Hymn book, she would often escape for some sacred solitude behind the garden shed to sing the beloved hymns of faith.

In her childhood, she was called Annie, and she told stories of how she enjoyed accompanying her beloved Papa to help care for the horses and other farm animals. When her Papa said he needed her help, she was eager to embark on any adventure with him. One day at the age of 12, her Papa called for her help to complete the upper roof section of the newly built chicken house. Her older brothers were unavailable, and she was always willing to help her Papa. She was stunned as her Papa instructed her to follow his lead as he climbed up, without a ladder, to balance on the narrow rafters under the roof. She hesitated, afraid she might fall. He calmly assured her she could do this, to keep her eyes on him, and follow his footsteps. She trusted her Papa and climbed up to stand on the narrow beams to hand him boards to finish the building project.

Every morning, when her Papa called for Annie, she jumped out of bed to join him and her brothers for morning milking; and she informed us that she never fell asleep at her desk in school due to those early morning chores. Apparently other school children slept, so she was very proud of her ability to stay alert in school. After school, she enjoyed the daily walks across the fields with the dog to bring the cows in for milking. She had amazing whistling skills and could imitate birds. Her greatest fun was teasing the oriole, imitating the bird as she drew a pail of water from the well. Then she walked across the yard to the chicken coop where she whistled again and watched as the oriole flew toward her from the well. Of all the childhood stories she told, this back-and-forth game with the oriole was one of her favourites. Even when dementia had wiped away many memories, the mention of the oriole at the well was all it took to reignite great joy and laughter for her. Many of these childhood stories only emerged during visits with her after our father had died.

As a teen, she left home for a few months to attend sewing school. After finishing the course, her first assignment was to sew her mother a dress. Throughout her lifetime, she completed many colourful sewing, quilting, knitting, and crocheted projects. She sewed clothes for the family and dresses for dolls, made quilts for her family and for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). She crocheted beautiful baby blankets donating some to the Okanagan Pregnancy Center. She made the best borsht, cabbage rolls, and saturated meatballs in gravy was a family favourite.

In September 1952, she attended Winkler Bible School. For Christmas break, she was invited to a classmate’s home in Winnipeg where she met her friend’s brother and fell in love. Our father, Eduard Manfred Dueck, had recently immigrated from Germany with his family. He was elated to meet a German speaking girl in this English-speaking country where he still felt like an outsider and wondered where he might find a wife. They exchanged many letters and were married on September 13, 1953. Their first home was in Winnipeg, where she worked at the hospital as a care aid to polio patients in iron lungs. Within six years they had four children in quick succession: lngelore “Lora” in Oct 1954, Elvira “El” in May 1956, Erland in April 1958, and Ervin in May 1959.

They farmed for a few years in Kleefeld, Manitoba prior to moving to Kelowna, BC in 1966. That first summer in Kelowna, our mother insisted all her children had to learn to swim and were enrolled in lessons amidst some protests. There was no indoor pool, so lessons took place at City Park beach. Okanagan Lake temperatures had not warmed up in early July and lessons were conducted in rain or shine weather. Our mother even took lessons alongside her four children although she had great fear of water due to the trauma of losing her young brother to drowning. We had no idea this fueled her determination to keep her children safe in a lakeside city. In 1969, a third son, Richard was born and in 1973, another daughter, Heidi, was born to complete the family.

Our parents were successful business partners, providing janitorial services in Kelowna as Dueck Maintenance for over 30 years from 1966 to 1998. Our mother managed the accounting and business side, often negotiating approval with management for all the extra cleaning, painting and repair items. We often joked that our father was so focused on his labour that if it wasn’t for our mother’s tracking, invoicing, and bold business acumen, our father would have worked for free. “And I only had schooling to Grade 10,” our mother said in amazement during her later years when she was reminded of her accomplishments in running their business. Her children, grandchildren, and many young people were hired and mentored according to the Dueck Maintenance work ethic. And, our mother always had fresh baked cakes and squares supplied to the work crew for coffee breaks.

Our parents were married for 63 years. Our father lovingly called her ‘N’, the German pronunciation of her name and it was not unusual to find little notes he wrote to her, addressing her as ‘N’. When he went for walks, he would pick a flower from someone’s garden and bring it home to our mother. He waltzed with her in the kitchen singing or humming a made-up tune and they often laughed together. The laughter continued even when her husband’s dementia resulted in long treasure hunts for the misplaced dishwasher soap, which was eventually found in the fridge. Eduard predeceased Anne on Jan 25, 2017, at the age of 88; she was his devoted care giver for over a decade as he declined with dementia.

She was a special friend to many and was easy going with friendly smiles at Chartwell Chatsworth, the assisted living facility where she lived the last nine and a half years of her life. She left a lasting impression of positivity, friendly smiles, and encouragements. In the early years at Chartwell, she took notice of newcomers and welcomed them to their new assisted living home community by handing out the red hearts she crocheted. She engaged in conversation with the caregivers and other residents. She was a very social person, loved to talk to people and tell her stories.

The saddest part of her later years was how dementia affected her confidence to interact with people. As her speaking abilities diminished, she retreated from social interactions, but still maintained a positive attitude while living with chronic pain and mobility issues. “No one likes a complainer”, she would say. “I have pain, but I can still smile”, she said. When asked how she was doing, she would often respond with, “I’m a happy camper”. She laughed easily even as she struggled with finding the words that escaped her so readily. However, she never lost her spirit of gratitude. She expressed genuine appreciation to her family for gifts of their presence during visits or day trips to a home for a meal, outings to a restaurant or to a park to feed corn to the ducks, completing her shopping, taking her to medical or dental appointments, doing her laundry, or giving her a haircut.

The greatest gift she gave to her children is the gift of her love for us alongside her own contentment and gratitude in all circumstances even as she grew weary of life and longed for her Heavenly home. She taught us by example how to age well, to spread joy and shine brightly, laugh easily, and to reach out to connect with others to make them feel seen and heard. She remains treasured in our hearts forever.

Our family gives heartfelt thanks to the exceptional Chartwell caregivers who treated our mother with kindness and compassion. She truly felt loved by the Chartwell staff. We also acknowledge a very special man, Frank Misan, who arrived soon after our father died and became a cherished friend to our mother. His care and affection for her was greatly appreciated and brought her companionship and joy, especially valued during the pandemic years when contact with her family was restricted. Thank you also to Margaret, the vibrant and joyful neighbour across the hall from our mother’s suite. Her persistent friendship to keep Anne company in her suite and check in on her when our mother retreated and became more isolated was a blessing and much appreciated

In her final two months in long-term care, she continued to be grateful for “this place” at Glenmore Lodge and the help she received from caring staff who assisted her daily. “I need help now, I can’t anymore,” she would say. Even as she beame weaker, she continued to express her thanks, reach out her loving hand to touch staff or pull them into an embrace. Her smiles and loving kindness impacted all who provided care to our mother. She left a lasting legacy of love.

She will be greatly missed by many, but we rejoice that she has finished her race and has transitioned to her Heavenly home.

A Funeral Service will be held on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2025, at 10:00 AM (PDT), located at SPRINGFIELD FUNERAL HOME, 2020 Springfield Road, Kelowna, BC, with Clair Jantzen officiating. If you are unable to attend in person, please join the family online by Livestream at the time of the service (see below), a recording will be made available to view in 3-5 days.

There will be a reception to follow after the service, along with an interment afterwards.

If you wish to send a condolence, post photos, or share a memory, please scroll down the page to the area call “Condolences”.

Livestream provided by Springfield Funeral Home: