Obituary of Lena Van Bergen

Lena Van Bergen (nee Andres) - passed away peacefully in her home March 27^th, 2021 after being visited by her family and siblings.

Lena was born Feb 9, 1933 in Vineland, Ontario. She was the fourth of twelve children of William and Elizabeth Andres.

In 1934, the family moved to a farm on Niven Rd in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Mom attended Virgil Public School and graduated with honours despite missing a lot of school due to farm work.  Mom was baptized in 1951 by Rev J. Dyck and became a member of the Niagara United Mennonite Church. Mom sang in the choir, taught Sunday School and was a part of the Women’s group for many years.

On Oct 22, 1955, mom married Eberhard Van Bergen. In 1962, they adopted Jamey and in 1964, the adoption of Carolyn completed their family.  Mom had many jobs during her years after the children started school. She drove school bus, worked as a teacher’s assistant and taught a yeast baking course in night school.

After Dad retired, he and Mom did quite a bit of traveling. They visited Florida, Mexico, Barbados, Cuba and Hawaii, but especially loved going on cruises. Mom was happy to go with him but looked forward to coming home to her family. 

She was especially proud of her five grandchildren, whom she always referred to as her “5 golden nuggets”.

After Dad passed in 2013, Mom was heartbroken. She relied heavily on her family, friends, neighbours and eventually her special friend Ben who provided companionship for the past 6 years.

Mom leaves behind her children; Jamey, Carolyn (Phil), Jamey Jr (Stacey), Julie and their mother Linda, Lisa, Jennifer (David), Sarah (Scott) and great grandchildren Hayden, Victoria and Jack.  She will be greatly missed by her siblings; Mary Janzen, Fred (Betty) Andres, Louise (Werner) Rogalski, Margie (Corny) Enns, Buddy (Ella) Andres, Kathy (Herman) Neufeld and her sisters in law, Eva Andres, Helen Andres and Betty Andres.  She was predeceased by her dear husband Eberhard, brothers William, John, Hank, Arthur and Walter, brother-in-law Nick Janzen, and sisters-in-law Elvira Andres, Louise Andres and Anne Andres.

Due to Covid restrictions, a private graveside ceremony will take place.

The family wishes to thank the supportive housing staff at Pleasant Manor for their excellent and loving care given to Mom during her time there and especially in her final days.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to MCC.