Dietrich Eckard Wienss

Dietrich Eckard Wienss was born in Gdansk, Poland on July 17, 1934 to Hans and Gertrud Wienss. Dieter had a brother Manfred Wienss Born August 31^st, 1928, preceding him in death at the age of 76.  Dieter’s sister, Karin Wienss Schuster was born May 5^th, 1942 and still lives in Burhstadt Germany. He had a good childhood.  His father worked at the Reichsbank and his mother was a housewife.  His mother was forced to work as a “bilans sichere-buch halterin”  (certified accountant) under Hitler’s reign.

The childhood of Dietrich and his siblings from 1934 -1944 was a blessed time.  His father enjoyed spending time with his kids and friends doing outdoor activities such as soccer, ice skating, and sledding. His mother was the academic force in the home.  It was important to her that her children learned and did their homework.

In January 1945 his family heard that the Russians were at the eastern front and were closing in.  These were dark months for the family.  Dieter was taken out of school and Manfred was drafted into the army as a soldier. The last memory Dieter had of his father was him leaving the home in February 1945 to take up arms in the front line, which was something his father knew he could not do.  His father never returned from the war. His mother , Dieter and Karin  lived under the Russian and Polish supervision for about 6 months.

These were hard times for the family and to get any food was even harder. Dieter often had to steal food so that the family had something to eat.  On top of that, there was always the fear of being killed by the Russians.  Dieter remembers a time when he took home pig guts to his mother for her to make a meal for the family.  His mother received two loaves of bread a week for the family.  The war ended for the Wienss family  April 1945 even though the war did not end for Germany until May 5^th 1945.

After the war, work was hard to find.  Dieter once again found himself on the streets looking for food.  This was a tough life and it often got him in trouble.  In October 1945, he met Mr. Wendt, a co-worker of his father at the bank.   Under his suggestion and counsel, the family was advised to get out of Danzig.  There were only three trains available: one train went to Germany and two of them to Syberia.  The train the family chose was the one that went to Germany.  There were 50 people in the train, which was locked up, with a Russian on the top who was holding a machine gun.

Once a day the train stopped and the people were let out in a field to find food and  do bathroom business.  The trip from Danzig to Berlin took 2 weeks.  Those who died were dumped out of the trains.  From Berlin, they pushed into West Germany.  KrisKarl Stadt was where Dieter finished his schooling to the 8^th grade.  From 8^th grade he then entered apprenticeship schooling in Nuremberg, Germany.  He finished 4 years of schooling in Nuremberg and received his diploma as a tool room machinist.  During his time in Nuremberg, he was brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at the age of 16 by one of his classmates.

In 1953, with permission from his mother, he was allowed to emigrate to Winnepeg, Canada.  He lived in Winnipeg for 2 years with his uncle.  Looking for a better working opportunity, Dieter moved to Edmonton.  In Edmonton there were  churches with  members from Germany.  The church where Dieter settled was Emmanuel Baptist Church. The Littmann Family was at this church and were long time family friends.  It was at this church that Dieter met Ingrid Hildegard Lemke and the two married on September 12, 1959.  Hans-Gerd Wienss was their first born on October 20, 1961 and he proceeded his parents in death on July 25, 1980.

Due to lack of work in Dieter’s field, they left Edmonton in 1963 for Milwaukee where there was again a German church which later became a part of Ridgewood Baptist Church.  On August 17^th, 1963 they added to their family with the birth of Marlis Andrea (Wienss) Van Ryzin.  On September 20^th, 1964 Thorsten Dieter Wienss was born, and later came Monica Maria (Wienss) Zabel on December 13^th, 1967.

On September 1, 1968 Dieter, along with business partners Heinz Proell and Bob Wiza, started Trace-A-Matic, Inc.   By 1977, there was a partnership change where John Fischer was added and Bob Wiza went off on his own.  Through much faith and hard work, Dieter and his partners grew the business to be well known machining company.

Dieter was blessed with wonderful additions to his family.  He and Ingrid welcomed Tina into the family October 28, 1989 when she married Thorsten.  Erik joined the family when he married Monica on May 15, 1993.  Six months later on November 6, 1993, Pat completed the family when he married Marlis.  The Lord blessed each family with beautiful grandchildren for Dieter and Ingrid.  Marlis and Pat were blessed with Annika.  Thorsten and Tina were blessed with Aaron, Rhianna, and Tessa.  Erik and Monica were blessed with Alex, Maria, Lukas, and Isaak.

As Dieter approached retirement in 1995, his focus from business went into a focus of mentoring, mission trips, working within the leadership of his church (Ridgewood Baptist Church), and business coaching.  Dieter and Ingrid enjoyed many years of travel, fishing in Canada, and their new house in Oconomowoc, which was a park for his 8 grandchildren.

In 2004, Ingrid was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  This was a difficult journey but together they were able to make the most of it.  They celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in 2009 and in their 55^th year of marriage (2014),  God called his beloved wife home.

Dieter completed his journey here on earth July 6, 2018 when he lost his battle with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) which turned into Leukemia.  If Dieter were standing here right now, he would say to us all, always put the Lord first in whatever you do and love those whom you come in contact with (mit).

We as your children and grandchildren will miss you very much and are extremely grateful for your endless sacrifice and example of how to live life.