Cornelius W. Loewen
Our Beloved Husband, Dad & Grandfather, Cornelius W. Loewen, 65, died September 4, 2015 at Wesley Medical Complex in Wichita as the result of an auto accident. He was born on August 21, 1950 in Chihuahua, Mexico, the son of Heinrich and Katharina (Wiebe) Loewen, the youngest of eight children.
When Dad was 17 years old, his father died very unexpectedly of a heart attack. This experience resulted in him always having a very tender spot in his heart for boys that had lost their fathers at a young age and he did his best to help mentor them. He was baptized in early 1971.
On July 4, 1971, Dad married Mary Peters in Mexico. They moved to the United States in December of 1973. They lived there for a while before returning to Mexico. Desiring to raise their family in better circumstances, Dad and Mom returned to Southwest Kansas in 1976 where he worked for several area farmers. He later went to work for Max Jantz Excavating as a welder. In 1998, Dad opened his own welding/machinist business, CW Welding. He really enjoyed the challenge of designing & building many tools and types of equipment as the needs arose for area farmers and different businesses. Dad also enjoyed reading, studying his Bible and working on puzzles together with Mom. He also enjoyed spending time with his family and grandchildren.
Dad would be the first to tell you he did not always lead a perfect life. He struggled with alcohol and tobacco addictions that started when he was very young and life was often very hard for him and his family due to these choices. In March of 1995, shortly before his first grandchild was born, he was finally able to overcome these addictions with God’s help and truly accepted Jesus Christ into his heart as his personal Savior and Lord of his life. From that point on, he was always very concerned about the salvation of his loved ones and he helped mentor many men that struggled with addictions as well. Dad spoke openly about his past and always pointed out that it was only due to the grace of God that he was saved. He spoke often about how he was looking forward to being with his Savior in Heaven. He often told his family that he loved them very much and how happy he was that each of them had given their lives to the Lord. He rejoiced with us as the grandchildren also began to make their commitments to follow Christ and become baptized. Dad was well known for being fairly quiet, gentle-spirited, and kind-hearted. He was also known to give wise advice when asked. We will miss him so much.
Dad was a member of the Mennonite Evangelical Church of Copeland and he played a big role in the founding of the church. He was very active in different boards and committees and he was much loved and respected there as well.
Dad is survived by his wife, Mary of Sublette; five children, Henry Loewen and wife Helen of Copeland, Tina Guenther and husband Hans of Copeland, Corny Loewen, Jr. and wife Laura of Montezuma, Lisa Dueck and husband Richard of Prague, Oklahoma, and Pete Loewen and wife Connie of Montezuma; three sisters, Helena Wall of Canada, Maria Blatz and Aganetha Wiebe both of Mexico; and 14 grandchildren, Hannah, Jordan, and Mikayla Loewen, Jason, Evan, and Terry Guenther, Shonsee and Keegan Loewen, Kaiden, Maliah, and Montaya Dueck, and Rhianna, Damien, and Kaishaun Loewen. He is preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Heinrich Loewen; three sisters, Katharina Archibald, Elizabeth Loewen, and Anna Schmidt; and one grandson, Kyler Loewen.
Funeral service will be held at Mennonite Evangelical Church in Copeland on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at 2:00 PM with Pastors John Loewen and Ken Harder presiding. Burial will follow at Copeland Cemetery. Visitation will be at Swaim Funeral Chapel, Montezuma on Tuesday, September 8, 2015 from noon to 8:00 PM. Memorials are suggested to Grace Missions for mission work in Haiti in care of the funeral home. Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online guest book at www.swaimfuneralhome.com.
