About the Site

Margaret never wished to be idolized or even recognized.  She simply lived her faith, using the gifts God gave her, always giving God the credit for her accomplishments, quietly touching the hearts of many.  As Milton stated, “the Lord’s presence in her flowed through into her work.”

One day shortly after Margaret’s passing, son Bernie stood in her office and began to realize just how much the person he knew as “mom” had touched others through her life and work.  The idea of a website to honor Margaret’s life and make her books and paintings available on a larger scale began to take shape.

The purpose of this website is not to lift up Margaret, but to share the rich legacy of faith she leaves behind.

Words

About Margaret

Margaret Penner Toews was born to a somber Mennonite minister, John M. Penner, and his bubbly wife, Helen, on March 13, 1933, the youngest of seven children. A vivacious, happy, dark haired little girl, she was the delight of her older siblings. Younger by four years than her next older sister, she was often left in her siblings care while her parents went about their ministerial duties. Sensitive in nature, she was tremendously impacted by the death of her twelve-year-old sister, Josephine, when Margaret was six.

She loved school and learning and throughout her life would recall with fondness songs and poems she learned there as a girl. Keen as she was to pain inflicted on her or on others around her, the usual childish pranks that took place during her school years affected her and were woven into the fabric that made up who she was. As a young girl she often found comfort in poetry, whether reading, reciting, or writing. When she was fifteen, a comment her father made in regards to how well an acquaintance of theirs had recited, spurred her to give herself more and more to that pursuit and her love of poetry grew. She finished her formal education in the one room school she’d attended all her eight school years, and begged her father to let her go on to high school and college as had her two sisters. (They both became accomplished RN’s who received their education after they had left home). His reply to that was “there is the encyclopedia, the Bible, and for fun reading there is the Reader’s Digest. All the education you need is in those volumes and you can continue to learn in that way.” Somewhat rebelliously, she proceeded to do just that. Those who knew her were often astounded at the vocabulary she possessed, and throughout her life she put it to good use. She was a true writer in the sense that anything that touched her, and most things did deeply, had to find expression, whether through song, poetry or prose.

She published her first book of poetry, “Footprints” in 1968, followed by a songbook, “Praise Him” written together with her dear friend Lydda Regehr, in 1969. In 1976 the first edition of “Five Loaves and Two Small Fish”, her second poetry book, was published followed by a poem book for children, “Fly High My Kite”, in 1982. Due to the intrusion of life in general, it wasn’t until 1993 that she published her last two books of poetry, “Fourth Watch” and “First a Fire”. After that, she gave herself to writing articles drawn from the many experiences of herself and others with whom she’d come in contact, and published her first devotional book, “Through the Scent of Water” in 1996. In 2000 she, together with her grandson Trevor Toews, published a songbook entitled “Oasis”. She had continued to write and thus was born “Threads From His Hem”, another devotional, in 2003. She and husband Milton had the privilege of going on a tour of the Mennonite heritage area of Russia in 2003 and heard the story of an orphaned baby boy abandoned in a pig sty, and feeling his story needed to be told, she published “Pig Boy” in 2004. After that her health, which had never been robust, began to fail, but she had a deep concern for the importance of family devotions in the home, and with that in mind, she worked on a devotional book geared towards that need. Different health issues arose and at times it looked like that book would not find completion. However, she persevered and the Lord was good to her, even healing her at one point during that time, and in December of 2009, “The Winds of God” made it to press.

She and her husband Milton, with whom she shared fifty-seven and a half years, had a full and vibrant life. They met when she was fifteen years of age and he, eighteen. The spark between them was ignited by their shared love of literature and their enjoyment in discussing it. They married in 1952 and he became her greatest fan. She could not have developed her talent to its full potential without his ardent support.

Throughout their life together they touched many lives, through her writing, but also because of their love for mankind. They raised six children, but also fostered and sheltered a host of others, experiencing much, which provided inspiration for her writing. They endured their share of difficulties and sometimes the emotional pain was such that writing was not an option, and in those times she did a lot of painting, which in its way, contained as much depth as her writing. She did oils, watercolors, and acrylics, or ink if need be. When she wasn’t painting or writing, she turned out knitted afghans by the dozens, or quilts, or appliquéd wall hangings. Anything was material for artistic expression. She often expressed a fear that she wouldn’t get done all she wanted to try in one lifetime.

She was a tireless hostess and devoted mother. Many, many people passed through their home and many pots of soup were shared. Their home was always a gathering place for the friends of their children or whoever else needed a place to stay, if for a day or two or for a whole summer. Her gift of hospitality continued until her dying day, not just expressed in having people into their home, but in her attitude to all those she came in contact with. The letters she received as a result of her books being read were all answered and many friendships were formed through that medium. She passed away after a short illness on April 9, 2010, leaving a tremendous legacy for her family and friends. Her memory will live on in the hearts of all who knew her.

Written by: Geneva Boehs, daughter of Milton and Margaret