Following the passing of Revd Siegfried Hettasch please find the eulogy given by his daughter, Hannie (Hettasch) Fitzgerald, along with the remembrance tribute given by Revd Olaf Andersen.
Eulogy
Dad first saw the light of day on February 1st, 1915, in Nain, Labrador where he was the youngest of 6. As was the custom for Missionary children in those days, he was sent to a boarding school in Kleinwelke, which was near Bautzen in Germany. During holidays, he stayed with his Uncle Hans (who was a friendly person), and his aunt Tante Lottie who apparently was extremely strict! However, maybe Dad needed some discipline when you hear him tell of his escapades while at the boarding school….
There was a teacher who was not liked very much, and one day while the teacher was absent from the school, some of the boys, including Dad got his bed out of his room and hoisted it up a tree in the school’s garden! Needless to say, when the teacher came back late in the evening, he was not happy!
Another time, Dad and his pals got up to other mischief for which they had to pay a fine to the local municipality….when it came time to pay up the boys came in and one by one, each put their share of the fine, penny by penny, on the desk……
At the age of 16, he left school and went to Herrnhut, Germany to become an apprentice and learned wall-papering, upholstery, carpeting and saddlery over a period of 4 years. He traveled everywhere by bicycle, once cycling from central Germany to the west of Holland to visit relatives! After his apprenticeship, he went to England for 3 years of Theology, and 9 months of medical training (which was required of missionaries), where he also learned to speak English.
He was ordained as a Deacon in the Moravian Church on August 14th, 1938 after which he returned to Labrador. Missionaries in those days had to be a “jack-of-all-trades” and Dad was no exception. He was a doctor, a dentist, a teacher, a mechanic, a justice of the peace, a hunter, a fisherman and sometimes a referee in local family fights!
While stationed at Nain, he met and fell in love with a Dutch teacher whom he married August 18th, 1940 and they had 4 children, the first of whom died at the tender age of 9 months when a bad flu epidemic took over the whole village of Hopedale in 1942.
The only way to travel within Northern Labrador in the 1940’s and 1950’s was by boat, dog team or plane depending on the season. In the summer Dad’s Inuit church members went to their fishing camps spread out across the region, so Dad needed a boat if he was to visit them. While stationed at Hebron, he saw an unused 40’ lobster boat hauled up on shore at Saglek, (a US Airbase) some miles north of Hebron, and asked if he could buy it. He was told it was not for sale, but later when the boat had been dragged over the rocks to the water’s edge and had a hole punched into her side, Dad was told he could have her for free. He patched her up, built on a bigger cabin, and the “Hebron” was born and used by Dad for many years. We all have many happy memories of trips on the “Hebron”.
When skidoos came on the market, he bought one for his own use. While on a hunting trip one winter, his skidoo blew a gasket. Unfortunately no-one had spares, so being the jack of all trades that he was… he cut a new one out of the bottom of his frying pan and left the holey remains of the frying pan suspended over a dead tree!
Dad had dentures from the age of 12 years when he developed rickets which caused all his teeth to fall out. Out of necessity, he learned to make his own dentures. This was a good thing because of the time he was checking a trout net, then had a coughing fit which resulted in his teeth falling into the harbour!! He often joked that perhaps one day he would catch a fish wearing his false teeth!
Dad was fluent in 4 languages; English, German, Dutch, and Inuktitut. He often acted as translator for visiting VIP’s. In 1976 at the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Moravian Church in Nain, he was translating into Inuktitut what the Church VIP members were saying, and vice versa when the locals spoke. At one point, he got a bit mixed up and started paraphrasing one English speaker’s words, instead of translating into Inuktitut!
Dad was always full of stories and loved to talk to outside churches about his life and work. He would tell them about the time he was conducting a burial in the graveyard when the ground was wet; he stood too close to the edge which caved in. He had to keep a straight face as he climbed out and carried on with the service as if nothing had happened.
Dad always loved having children around him. When he retired in 1980, after 42 years of service, it was natural for him to want to be near his grandsons, Paul and Tim; who were living in Aylmer, Quebec at that time. Because of this he built a house in Perkins, Quebec where they lived for 16 years.
In 1996 he and Mom moved into Sarsfield nursing home, where they were given the best of care and became part of the family. He was always a gentleman, and will be missed by all.
In finishing, I would like to say the Lord’s Prayer in Inuktitut:
Nalegak Gude, atatavut Kilangme, attit nertortaule,
nalegaunet Kailaule; pijomajat piniartaule nuname sorlo Kilangme;
uvlome piksaptingnik tunitsivigitigut; idluinivut issumagijungnaikkit, sorlo uvagut idluitulivigijivut issumagijungnairvigigaptigit oktortaulungnermut pitinata; piulitigulle ajortumit;
Nalegaunek pitsartunerlo, ananaunerlo, pigigangne issoKangitomut,
Amen.
Remembrance Tribute
As a child, teen, and adult, the name “Hettasch” has always been synonymous with the Moravian Church in Labrador. I remember my parents talking of Rev. Paul “Pa” Hettasch. I also had the honour of working for 2 years with one of Siegfried’s sisters, known to everyone as “Auntie Kate”. She was certainly ahead of her time as far as women in ministry go. Then there was Siegfried…..young Hettasch ….. as many of the older people referred to him.
While serving the Church in Labrador for a few years and struggling with the Inuit language, I worked with an elderly gentleman who was very patient and understanding. He encouraged me by saying that I pronounced the Inuktitut words very well, especially when reading them. The problem was, understanding what I was reading! I asked this man about previous Ministers and how they were understood by the Inuit people. He made the following reply;
“If you want to hear the Inuit language spoken grammatically correct, listen to Rev. Peacock. If you want to hear it spoken as the Inuit speak it, listen to Rev. Siegfried Hettasch”.
Siegfried was a very practical man and therefore was understood by the Inuit people. If you wanted something done, you learned to do it yourself. If you wanted something fixed, you learned to fix it yourself. I believe that this was something all of the people in Labrador appreciated about him. I remember the many hours he spent in the engine house, which was the village power plant, getting the lights to go on again. I remember someone telling the story of a caribou hunt when Siegfried’s snowmobile got a broken piston….he fashioned a new piston head from a tin cup. The engine started, and even though there was not much power, he managed to bring the caribou to the nearest community where spare engine parts were available.
Traveling by open boat with family and friends, or on a mission trip for the church, Siegfried was the captain, first mate, and engineer. He knew the land, respected nature and was very knowledgeable about directions. All this was in the days of compass and common sense….there was no GPS then.
I believe that the greatest compliment I could pay Siegfried would be to say that he was a “people-pastor”. He made time for people, he tried to understand them and how they lived. He knew their strengths and their weaknesses, and worked to the best of his ability with what he had.
From someone who knew Siegfried Hettasch and who wishes he could have known him better, “Servant of God, well done
Rest from your loved employ.
The battle fought, the victory won,
Enter your Master’s joy!”
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