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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ay 16 ,2 01 9 | 10 FRIDAY - SUNDAY 3 DAYS onlY! FEBRUARY 27TH TO 29TH DECORA AND APPLIANCES noPAYmENtS OrINtErESt FOr 12MONTHSOn Home Credit Card purchases over $250. O.A.C. See Details on Back. noPAYmENtS OrINtErESt FOr 12MONTHSOn Home Credit Card purchases over $250. O.A.C. See Details on Back. $349 Kitchener Kitchener Home Furniture 1014Victoria St. N • Kitchener, Ontario N2B 3C4 519-579-7300 Mon-Fri 9am-9pm • Sat 9am-6pm • Sun 10am-5pm LIMITED TIME ONLY ANNIVERSARY SALE ChIME 10" MATTRESS IN A bOx bENChMASTER STRESS FREE ChAIRS MAIER 2PC SECTIONAL Queen Size $599 Starting at $999 Also available in Twin, Full & King. Mattress Only. Foundation not included. 3 COLOURS TO CHOOSE FROM VALENCIA hANA hAPPY FOxFIELD ROCKER RECLINER $349 3 COLOURS TO CHOOSE FROM NO TAX applies to in stock furniture & mattresses only. Excludes Nationally advertised sale items,appliances, clearance,bathroom vanities, kitchen cabinets & home hardware inventory. Marion Roes has been around death for most of her life. The great-granddaugh- ter of an undertaker and part of the Elmira-famous Dreisinger family from the Dreisinger Funeral Home, Roes has had a passion for the history of death in Wa- terloo Region. Her passion has led her to write her first book - Mennonite Funeral and Burial Traditions. "Being in Elmira, we served the Mennonite com- munities in the area," said Roes. Her research into the history of burials and un- dertakers in Waterloo Re- gion started about 10 years ago when she was looking into her family history and discovered that her great- grandfather, who started the funeral home business in 1904, was also in busi- ness in Kitchener and Wa- terloo. After looking into the history of the undertaker profession in both cities, she noticed that there was a lot of history about the homes, but not much about the undertakers them- selves. Roes went on to win the Edna Stabler Fellowship in 2014, earning a grant to continue her research. She started working on a book, interviewing funer- al directors, families of fu- neral directors and other people involved in the busi- ness. While the general infor- mation was interesting, what Roes found truly in- triguing was the research she was doing on Menno- nite burial traditions. From using a crude wood- en box instead of a vault, to having the young members of the community or family dig the grave, just about ev- erything about Mennonite traditions was different than what most perceive as the norm. In her book, Roes in- cludes transcripts, journal entries and other docu- ments to get a true glimpse into the history of Menno- nite burial traditions, while gleaning stories and first-hand accounts from interviews with people in the different Mennonite communities in and around Waterloo Region. The book includes more than 80 pictures as well. The official book launch takes place May 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Erb Street Mennonite Church, 131 Erb St. W., Waterloo. The book is available at: Words Worth Books, Waterloo Living Waters, Elmira Wallenstein General Store Anna Mae's in Millbank Schnurr's General Store in Linwood NEWS Marion Roes has been around death for most of her life. The great-granddaughter of an undertaker and part of the Elmira-famous Dreisinger family from the Dreisinger Funeral Home, Roes has had a passion for the history of death in Waterloo Region. Adam Jackson/Torstar WATERLOO WOMAN CRAFTS BOOK ON MENNONITE FUNERALS AND BURIALS ADAM JACKSON ajackson@waterloo chronicle.ca