A Funeral

March 23, 1933  We all went to Jacob S. Friesen’s  funeral.   He died on the 20^th at 5:00 p.m.  There were many mourning people there.

A funeral was an important event for the congregation and the community.  Anyone who had a connected to the deceased or to his family would be sure to attend.  Funerals were usually held in the afternoon, and were an occasion for mourning and not considered a celebration of someone’s life as they are often now.  After the service relatives and friends would go to the bereaved family’s home for a simple faspa to show support and comfort.  Neighbor ladies would usually go to the bereaved family’s home the day before the funeral to make the dough and then take the dough home and bake the zwieback. 

Jacob S. Friesen was a second cousin to both Cornelius and Margaret, so they would have gone for that reason alone, regardless of any other connections that they had to him or his family.  He was only 50 years old.