Obituary of Dora Penner

Penner, Dora (nee Reimer), 58, of Berwick, N.S. With great sadness we announce the passing of Dora on Sunday, April 6, 2014. She was born to the late Henry P. D. and Nettie (Reimer) Reimer, April 13, 1955, in Chihuahua, Mexico. In 1961, she moved with her family to Spanish Lookout, Belize, where she attended school and grew up as a lively girl who enjoyed life and easily made friends. Family trips to Manitoba during summer were highlights of her childhood, allowing her to cultivate friendships there as well. Dora married Henry Penner on November 14, 1976 in Belize. She and her family moved to Nova Scotia in the spring of 1986, where she soon contributed enthusiastically and with great energy and stamina to the family farm. In recent years, she was a regular vendor at the Wolfville Farmer’s Market. One of her favourite activities throughout her life was singing. She and her siblings would frequently spend their evenings singing, often from memory. Henry has vivid memories of climbing to the top of a mountain in Mexico with her and other members of her family and being deeply affected by hearing them sing “How Great Thou Art” in four-part harmony from memory at the top of the mountain. The end of her life was marked by the same generosity, cheerfulness, and unwavering faith in God that she had shown earlier in her life, despite an extended battle with cancer. She first discovered a lump in her abdomen in May 2012. After surgery and other treatments, she seemed to have beat the cancer. In 2013, however, just a few weeks before Nelson and Kira’s wedding, she became increasingly ill and it soon became clear that the cancer had returned. But throughout all this, she was an extraordinary inspiration to those around her. Instead of thinking only about herself, she showed great concern for other people who were ill. She always found things for which to be thankful. She frequently expressed gratitude for the help Henry, her nurses, and many others gave her. She never complained. Even to the very end, she had a remarkable lack of anxiety about death. Dora is survived by her husband, Henry Penner; son and daughter-in-law Nelson and Kira Penner of Berwick, N.S.; son and daughter-in-law, Sydney and Erin Penner, and two grandchildren, Katherine and Nathaniel, of Wilmore, KY; and three sisters and four brothers. She was preceded in death by her parents, one brother, and four sisters. Donations in memory of Dora may be made to the Red Cross or the Valley Hospice Foundation. Visitation will be held Wednesday, April 9, 2014 from 7pm- 9pm at Serenity Lindsay Funeral Home Berwick Chapel and the funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 10, 2014 at 2pm from the Berwick Baptist Church, 265 Commercial St. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.serenitylindsayfuneralhome.ca. Arrangements have been entrusted to Serenity Lindsay Funeral Home, Berwick Chapel, 192 Commercial St. (538-9900). Wednesday April 9, 2014, 7pm - 9pm at Serenity Lindsay Funeral Home Berwick Chapel Click for Map and Directions Thursday April 10, 2014, 2pm at Berwick Baptist Church Click for Map and Directions