Hilda Huebner was born on December 23, 1932 during the Great Depression in the village of Wellesley in Waterloo Region, Ontario. She was the fifth child of Abram and Katherine (nee Baerg) Huebner with six more children to come. Her parents immigrated to Canada in 1926 from Alexanderkrone, Ukraine. This journey was filled with hardship and uncertainty, leaving behind family and wealth to start a new life in Ontario. When Hilda was six, the family moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake to start farming.
At the age of 13, Hilda accepted Jesus as her Saviour, the start of a deep faith journey. When she was 15 she was baptized in Lake Ontario and became a member of the Virgil M.B. church. She attended Grade 9 at Eden Christian College, then moved to Stamford Collegiate in Niagara Falls for Grade 10 and 11. She loved learning, and saved enough money on her own to finish Grade 12 and graduate from Eden Christian College.
During her time at Virgil M.B. church, she met John Arthur Froese. In 1952 Art spent his first year at Briercrest Bible Institute in Caronport, Saskatchewan. He invited Hilda to join him at Briercrest the following year. Because of the strict dating rules at bible school, he proposed to Hilda before they arrived. They were married on July 17, 1954. In January 1956 their first child, Alan, was born, which meant that Hilda could not graduate from Briercrest that year with Art. But her love of learning persisted and through distance education she finally graduated 40 years later in 1996.
In the spring of 1956, Art and Hilda returned to Niagara and in 1958, Carolyn was born. They always wanted to serve the Lord in some mission capacity abroad. The Janz Team was in need of an office manager in Germany. They applied and were immediately accepted and on November 7, 1958 they sailed to Europe. In August 1960, Donna was born. The family remained in Germany until November 1961.
They were welcomed home and started attending the Niagara Christian Fellowship Chapel, an outreach church of the Virgil M.B. Church. In July 1967, Brenda was born. During this decade Art had numerous bouts of mental illness. In November 1970, Art passed away, leaving Hilda, at the age of 38, to raise a young family of four children on her own. Hilda’s faith grew even deeper at this time as she committed each of her children to the Lord and relied on His strength to carry her each day. The following decade, Hilda worked in the office at Eden Christian College. The Chapel family and staff and students at ECC also provided a wonderful support to Hilda and her children.
In 1979, Arthur Hamm, who had four children, Darene, Debbie, Darrell and Darla, was working in the printing department at Briercrest Bible Institute. He met Hilda Froese, a widow who also had four children, and had attended Briercrest just like he had. Both had lost their spouses the same year. In early May, both attended a Briercrest reunion in Toronto. On Father’s Day, Hilda flew to Saskatchewan and Arthur proposed to her. They got married in Niagara on August 4, 1979 and moved to Caronport for two years with Darrell, Darla and Brenda.
Shortly after, Dr. Bob Bowman asked Arthur to represent Far East Broadcasting Company in Ontario. Arthur had previously been a missionary in India for 10 years. Arthur and Hilda moved back to Niagara and spent the next ten years raising funds and working for FEBC throughout Ontario and Quebec.
In 1993, Arthur and Hilda decided to move to Abbotsford since both of their youngest daughters, Darla and Brenda (and a year later Carolyn) were living in the Fraser Valley. Arthur always had a heart for the work in India. They partnered with several mission organizations before starting their own agency called Cross Cultural Mission Support Ministries. They flew to India thirteen times assisting in building churches and developing many relationships with the people there. Their last trip was in January 2007. Little did they know that within a week of returning back to Canada, Arthur would be ushered into glory to be with the Lord on February 20, 2007.
Hilda stayed in her condo, remaining very involved in Clearbrook MB Church, visiting friends and especially enjoying time with her family and her grandchildren who were so special to her. Hilda’s 80th birthday was a wonderful celebration together. Hilda also just loved seeing her great grandchildren and was known as GG to them.
Hilda’s health started to change and in 2016 she moved to Tabor Court assisted living. She enjoyed socializing with all her friends. It was truly a taste of heaven. She loved chapel, sang in the choir and she and her family were so thankful for this faith-based home. The staff were wonderful to her especially during the 2020 Covid pandemic. Hilda had a lovely 90th birthday celebration on December 23, 2022 surrounded by family and enjoying Indian curry and sharing together.
In May of 2023, Hilda’s health greatly declined and she spent time in the Abbotsford Hospital and was then moved to long term care at Mission Hospital. She was in great need of family support at this time and her nearby family rallied to help with these needs. It was a difficult journey for Hilda as she was immobilized and suffered from dementia. On November 10, 2023 the Lord took His wonderful servant home. Hilda had “fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith” ( 2 Timothy 4:7).
Hilda was predeceased by Art Froese and Arthur Hamm, and siblings Helen, Hattie, Margaret, Peter, and Leonard. She is survived by her siblings Irmgard, Abe, Leona, Eleanor and Kathleen. She is also survived by four children from her first marriage Alan (Marilynne), Carolyn (Alvin), Donna (Glenn), Brenda (Mark); her grandchildren Maureen, Blake (Jessica), Kylie (Erik), Courtney, Brandy (Phil), Amber (Bryan), Avery, and Marcus; and great grandchildren Mackenzie, Noelle, Joab, Drew and Hudson. She is also survived by her children from her second marriage, Darla (Randy), Darrell (Daniela), Debby (Gerry deceased), Darene (Roman) and grandchildren Breanna, Sierra, Sydney, Davin, Daliah, Steven (Kristen), Gypsy (Iron), Chad (Katie), Chris (Shelly - Kloe, Brielle, Rylee) and Curtis.
Hilda’s life verse was Exodus 33:14 “And He said My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest”
A private family burial for Hilda will be held Monday, November 20, 2023 at Chilliwack Cemeteries, 10010 Hillcrest Dr, Chilliwack, BC V2P 7X1. Following the graveside service will be a memorial service from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM at Clearbrook Mennonite Brethren Church, 2719 Clearbrook Road, Abbotsford, BC V2T2Y9.
To view a pictorial tribute of Hilda please visit https://youtu.be/ruH63ujpxrE?si=JhC7rH0pItlK6e1d
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodlawnfh-abbotsford.com for the Froese and Hamm family.
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