Dueck, Peter P. (1908–1995)
Proper Title
Peter P. Dueck fonds
Dates of Creation
1938–1914
Physical Description
7cm of textual records
Biographical Sketch
Peter P. Dueck (Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry [Grandma] number 767145), church leader and farmer, was born on January 21, 1908, to Peter A. Dueck (1876–1959) and Helena Kliewer (1878–1949) in Alexanderkrone, Sagradovka, South Russia (now Ukraine), the seventh of fourteen children. Peter immigrated to Canada in October 1926 with his family.
On June 24, 1928, Peter was baptized upon confession of Christian faith into the North End Church (now Elmwood Mennonite Brethren Church) in Winnipeg.
Peter married Susanna Janzen on August 7, 1934, in Oak Bluff, Manitoba. Susanna (Grandma #767137) was born on September 13, 1914, to Paul P. Janzen (d. 1922) and Maria Friesen (1989–1933) in the Ignatyevo settlement, South Russia, the second of eleven children. Peter and Susanna adopted William (“Bill"; Grandma #404213) and raised him as their son.
After coming to Canada, Peter farmed with his brother and father on a property near Oak Bluff, Manitoba, not far from the city of Winnipeg. He attended Winkler Bible Institute (Winkler, Manitoba), completing the five-year program of studies for Christian ministry. In Winnipeg, he continued his ministry studies, completing a four-year degree at the Mennonite Brethren Bible College in 1954. Moving back to the family farm at Oak Bluff, now with his own family, he farmed and served as pastor at the Springstein Mennonite Brethren Church for nine years. In 1963, he and his family joined the Portage Ave. Mennonite Brethren Church in Winnipeg. “He devoted his entire life to service in Christian ministry and developed many long lasting friendships during his years of service” (from obituary). Peter died on July 23, 1995.
Custodial History
In 2010, William (“Bill”) Dueck came to the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies and deposited four Hefts or notebooks that together formed a novel that his father, Peter P. Dueck, had written in 1938. Bill asked at the Centre whether someone could translate the manuscript written in a fine Gothic cursive script. After some initial transcription by John Martens, the Centre was able to secure the translation services of Jake K. Balzer (Calgary) to translate all four notebooks. The translation project took about a year and was completed in October 2013. Bill donated the four-notebook manuscript to CMBS in November 2013.
Scope and Content
The Peter P. Dueck fonds consists of four, 48-page notebooks that together make up a romance novel called Durch Fluten [Through Floods], set in a German Mennonite settlement during World War I and the post-war revolution. Bill recalls his father as a story teller who would regularly entertain him with stories. This novel is one of several written by Peter; however, it is the only one that survived a fire on the property some years ago. For a summary of the narrative plot, see Jake K. Balzer’s review in Mennonite Historian 40/1 (2014). The type-written English translation created by Jake Balzer is also included in the fonds.
Notes
- Title based on contents of fonds.
- Accession numbers: 2013-26.
- Volume No.: 926.
- Finding aid consists of a description and a file list.
- Description created by Jon Isaak, December 2013.
- No restrictions to access.
- Language: German and English.
File List
1. Book 1 of Durch Fluten [Through Floods] with English translation. -- 1938, 2013.
2. Book 2 of Durch Fluten [Through Floods] with English translation. -- 1938, 2013.
3. Book 3 of Durch Fluten [Through Floods] with English translation. -- 1938, 2013.
4. Book 4 of Durch Fluten [Through Floods] with English translation. -- 1938, 2013.
5. Brief summary of narrative plot by Jake K. Balzer. -- 2014.
6. Obituary of Peter P. Dueck, with funeral service. -- 1995.