Remembering my Dad

My Dad, Tony Wiebe, died recently at the age of 93, after a long, full life. We will miss him greatly.

I have gathered memories of Tony told by family and friends, stories to remember him by. You will find them below, following the obituary. My own stories can be found in the related articles section at right.

Obituary

Alton ‘Tony’ Wiebe was born February 26, 1930 to Arno and Edna Wiebe in the Mennonite village of Corn, Oklahoma, the 2nd of 4 children. He grew up in Oklahoma City and Vacaville, California, where he attended high school. Tony then moved to Portland, Oregon to attend Multnomah School of the Bible, and there met Celia Shaw. Tony and Celia were married on September 10, 1950 at Central Bible Church.

Graduating from Multnomah, Tony attended and graduated from Vanport College (now Portland State), then attended the University of Oregon Medical School. While completing his schooling, he and Celia started a family, with Stephen, Thomas, Barbara and Ruth joining them before he graduated from medical school in 1957. After a year of internship, Tony and family then spent 4 years in the Army, primarily in Germany, where Captain Wiebe served as a flight surgeon. Their 5th child, Craig, joined the family there.

After military service, Tony returned to Portland in 1962, where he lived the remainder of his life. Tony joined the Greeley Clinic as a family physician and practiced medicine there until his retirement in 2000. Peter, Tony & Celia’s 6th child, joined them in 1965.

Tony was an irrepressible force of nature. Despite the long days as a physician, he participated fully in family life. Tony helped anyone in the family with medical issues, night or day. He was involved in his community, serving on the board of Multnomah University and Central Bible Church for many years, and served a stint as the chief of the medical staff at Emanuel Hospital. Tony loved sports, particularly golf, cycling, tennis and basketball, and was active until late in his life. He rode the 500-mile Cycle Oregon at age 72! He was a very knowledgeable carpenter and passed on that knowledge to his children. Tony delighted in his grandchildren, organizing impromptu walks with them which often led to the candy store. Tony and Celia travelled the world, particularly after retirement, often with other family members, and sometimes to do volunteer medical work.

Tony died in his sleep on December 26, 2023. He is survived by his wife, Celia, and his children Tom, Barbara, Ruth, Craig and Peter, along with 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son Stephen in 2018.

Memories of Dad

Barbara McDougall, daughter

Dad loved athletics – football, basketball, skiing, tennis, biking. As kids, we had many family flag football games, basketball games and games of “horse”. He taught us to be competitive and work hard. I remember running through the rose bushes to catch a football pass, with no thought of getting hurt, just needing to catch the ball! We ended up going to his office to bandage my wounds.

Dad often took us out of school to ski on Wednesdays. One such Wednesday when I was 12, I fell and broke my leg early in the day. Dad decided I wasn’t hurt too bad even though I declared “I broke my leg!”, and he made me wait in the ski patrol room until they’d skied a full day. (Maybe it wasn’t a full day, but it sure seemed like it to my 12 year old self.) I got treatment on the way home. I’m sure Dad felt bad that I’d fractured my tibia and fibula and required a full cast above the knee.

Dad was musical. He loved to sing and could read music. He helped me with piano practice. And he could always call out a missing sharp or flat from anywhere within earshot!

Dad shared his guidance and wisdom, advising me that I was not allowed to date at age 15, because he was a teenage boy once and he knew what they thought! I loved talking to my Mom about daily life, but when I needed counsel, I always called Dad. He would listen and offer love and encouragement along with his wisdom.

Dad was quick to help whenever any of us needed help as adults. He helped build decks and fences. He dug trenches to repair plumbing. He taught me how to hang wallpaper.

And he was so energetic! One July 4th, Duane and I were planning our first party on the lake. We were expecting people to arrive sometime in the afternoon. The doorbell rang around 10:30 in the morning. There was dad! He’d ridden his bike from north Portland and was ready for boating! So we went boating. He tubed behind the boat with his grandkids. Did I mention he was a wonderful grandfather, so much fun.

Dad was a man of faith and integrity. He taught me to love the Lord and to live my life with integrity.

He never wanted to move into assisted living, because he was so independent and capable. But he did accept it, kind of. Whenever we visited he would be sociable and talkative, telling stories. And always thanking us for coming and so appreciative that his family stayed by him. Of course we did! He was our DAD, a wonderful man, and we LOVE him!

Joan Wiebe, sister-in-law

My husband came from a wonderful family. Tony, his older brother was a very special brother to Ron. I remember from the earliest days when God called us into missions, Tony and Celia were behind us one hundred percent. They not only encouraged us and prayed for us as we went to Bolivia but gave generously to our financial support and this continued even into our retirement years.

Three times when Ron brought a group of Bolivian young men and women from our youth ministry, called THE ANDINOS, who were gifted athletically as well as musically, to present the ministry in Bolivia in churches, schools, universities and other groups, Tony and Celia provided a large van to transport them and their musical instruments all over the US and Canada for their meetings. And when they were not traveling the Wiebe’s opened their home to the Andinos and the youth could be seen all over their large home, many sprawled out chatting, others watching TV, resting or eating a snack. They really loved Tony and Celia and felt right at home with them.

During our early years in Bolivia Ron was elected as a member of the Field Council and a few years later he was elected Assisted Director and eventually General Director of The Andes Evangelical Mission. He was asked to leave the youth ministry and dedicate his time to the leadership and administration of the Mission. Each year we held a Mission Conference and one year Dr. and Mrs. John G. Mitchell, Pastor of Central Bible Church in Portland, Oregon was our speaker. He was the Pastor of one of our main supporting churches and also the church where Ron served as Youth Minister before we left for Bolivia. Tony was Dr. Mitchell’s doctor and he and Celia accompanied them. We were so honored to have both couples with us. Unfortunately, there was an outbreak of the flu during the conference but we were so blest to have Tony present. He graciously cared for the sick and gave advice to prevent further spread of the disease. One day Tony was seen in the kitchen throwing dish after dish on the floor shattering them to pieces. People were shocked but Tony proceeded to announce, “dishes with cracks are the biggest germ spreaders around!’ Thankfully few became ill after that and Dr. Mitchell’s messages of the Word blessed everyone greatly.

Every 3 to 4 years we came to the States on furlough or home assignment. During that year we visited Bible colleges, supporting churches, individual supporters, friends and family in California, Illinois and Oregon sharing what God was doing in Bolivia. When we weren’t traveling, Tony and Celia often planned special activities for us and our children. Our children still remember when Uncle Tony took them out of school for the day and took them up to Mt. Hood where he taught them to ski. It was one of the most memorable times for them of all of our furloughs. A memorable time for me was the year they took Ron and me on an Alaskan Cruz, all expenses paid! We had our very own suite and it was fabulous! That is until our Norwegian Line hit a winter storm out at sea. Even Tony, who assured us he never got seasick couldn’t get out of bed! I, who had a deathly fear of ocean travel since hearing about the Titanic as a child, remember crawling to the intercom of our suite as the ship rolled around and around and asking our steward to bring us some seasick pills. Ron was worse off than I was! An hour later the Ship’s Caption came on the loud speaker and announced that we would be changing course since so many were ill due to bad weather and that we would be moving inland and traveling up the coast. Whithin an hour all was calm and everyone was able to enjoy the formal dinner that night. And………We have a lovely Photo to prove it. A beautiful evening to be sure! A very special gift from Tony and Celia.

In May of 2015 a cist on Rons kidney burst and we took him to emergency in excruciating pain and he was admitted to the hospital. He had to be taken off his blood thinners and it was clear that he could not survive without them. All our children and some of our grandchildren arrived and for two weeks our children cared for him day and night. During those weeks their cell phones rang continually with calls from friends and family here in the States as well as other countries, especially Bolivia. There were so many calls that some had to be turned away as Ron grew weaker. We asked that no visitors be allowed but then one day a special visitor arrived – Tony, all the way from Oregon! Tony talked non stop and Ron listened, elated. He stayed with us that night and visited Ron the next day before his flight. Ron told me later how thankful he was for Tony’s visit and how much it meant to him. Now they are together with the One in whom they both had put their trust and served faithfully, their wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gary Wiebe, nephew

My name is Gary and I’m one of uncle Tony’s nephews. My dad, Ron, was his younger brother. One of my happier memories is of going snow skiing with uncle Tony and his kids. It was a school day and I remember uncle Tony showing up at our house early in the morning and announced that we were all going skiing. My dad protested saying that it was a school day, but uncle Tony just said that he was the older brother and that it was settled. Uncle Tony was always so generous and he paid for our ski passes and also had several pairs of skis for us to use. He taught me to ski and then I skied with my cousin Craig who was 2 years older than I. Craig was a very good skier and would find jumps to catch some air. On one of the jumps, Craig came down and his ski pole ripped part of his ear loose. We found uncle Tony, who looked at it and said it was not bad at all. We hopped in the car and drove to a doctor’s office that uncle Tony knew and Craig was stitched up in record time and we returned to ski the rest of that day. Uncle Tony loved to have fun and so was always fun to be around.

Brian Ferriso

I feel very fortunate to have known Tony and his wife Celia. They both were extremely generous in their support of the arts and our Portland Art Museum, helping many thousands in our community see beauty. Tony visited many of our exhibitions and traveled often with me on art museum trips. He was always curious, whether it was viewing antiquities or cutting edge contemporary art, Tony knew the importance of cultural expression and its ability to educate, inspire and unite. He will be missed greatly, but his impressive legacy will continue to be felt by many. Thank you Tony for all you have done in your remarkable life.

Brian Ferriso, Director, Portland Art Museum

David Chamberlain

Dr. Wiebe was my primary care physician for nearly 20 years. He never failed to ask about my family and on every visit encouraged me to stop smoking which I finally did before he retired. At some point in our conversations, we learned that his son-in-law, Duane, and I had worked at the same accounting firm early in our carreers. The last time I saw him was shortly after his retirement in the Italian restaurant at the corner of N Killingsworth and N Greeley. Dr. Wiebe will remain in my heart as one of the most compassionate people I have had the privilege to have known.

David Wagner

I first met Tony as an attending physician at Emmanuel Hospital where I was a resident in Internal Medicine, after a year at Emmanuel I felt it was time to go to work and joined Tony at the Greely Clinic……a slow day would be under 50 patients ! We shared the same office and had much time to talk medicine and life.

God Bless you on your journey to Heaven…….David

Jean Lynch

Dr. Wiebe was medical director at Porthaven when I was there for 20 years. he was great to work with. He listened to the nurses, which wasn’t always the case! He really cared for his patients and their families. A pleasure to work for and with.

Pat Lawson

Dr. Wiebe was the Dr. that Delivered my Very High Risk R H Neg. Baby. The Night I went into Labor, (after another difficult week), he was supposed to be off duty, and when I came in, he stayed, much to my relief, when she was Born, I knew right away it was a Girl, because he said, She is Pink, very delightedly. I was relieved she was alive, & when later that morning they brought in a specialist to do a Blood Exchange, I was reassured she would be OK. He said he wouldn’t be doing anymore of these High Risk Babies, too stressful, But I always felt blessed that he was the one who did deliver her. Such a Caring Dr., and this Child is such a Blessing in my Life. Thank You, Dr. Wiebe, for all the years of great care.

Deborah Chapman

I met Tony in 1982 at Craig and Catherine’s wedding and proceeded to see him at every Wiebe gathering to which I was invited. What a father! What a grandfather! What a husband! His dedication to his family – and, in particular, to Celia – always impressed me. AND, I was always touched at how he seemed to also have time to catch up with me. He will be greatly missed. XOXO

Bob Maricle

I remember him quite well from Emanuel days. Great to see photos from that era. He was full of life, happiness, goodness, generosity, interest, kindness, curiosity and good humor. Really a remarkable human being. I can’t imagine the loss his children must feel when not finding him in the yard or the next room.

Andrew Burnett

Tony was my GP from 1962 till 2000 when he retired.He was a friend of my parents when he attended Multnomah Bible School.My middle name is Alton, after Tony. In the summer of 1963 Tony took our family out on their boat on the Willamette River. That was the day, at age 9, that I learned how to water ski. I have been an avid water sports enthusiast ever since. My family and the hundreds of people who have been on our boats over the years have Tony to thank for that. RIP dear friend.