Martin was born in Pretoria, Orenbrug, December 14, 1907, and was able to complete his high school education in Russia before his family uprooted and immigrated to Canada when he was 18 years old. He spent his first years in Canada working on nearby farms to support his parents and family, like his older siblings, Helena and Abram. At the Colpitts Ranch, one of his tasks was ‘breaking’ wild horses, which resulted in an injury that plagued him all his adult life. In the early 1930s, he made regular winter trips into Calgary for his father, delivering silage or driving cattle to market.

     In 1932, on the confession of his faith in Jesus Christ, Martin was baptized and became a member of the Didsbury Mennonite Church. Martin never did develop a love for farming and so at some point in the early 1930’s, he became involved in a vocation that would be his passion until his retirement years. It is not clear to me what the circumstances were surrounding the decision that he would move to Calgary, and if there had been initial support from his parents. In any event, he found work in Calgary, first as a milkman, and in carpentry, and later he began to buy and sell produce on his own time.

     He sold eggs, cucumbers, corn, and potatoes which he bought in Gem, Alberta. He transported the produce in an old “jaloppy” to Calgary and sold it there. Because he disliked farm work, he put that much more effort into this venture to ensure he need not return to the farm. Martin lived in a rented house and sub-rented the downstairs to a family and two upstairs rooms to two single men. The rental income paid for the house rental costs, allowing him to invest his money elsewhere. In fact, all his money was sent home during the first years. His business venture became successful, based on the fact that by the time he was courting Sara, he was driving a new GMC truck, and was the envy of his future brothers-in-law.

     In 1937, Martin Loewen and Sara Neumann became acquainted, through a mutual acquaintance in Calgary. Their courtship was rather brief – three months – and on November 27, they were married in Gem, Alberta, and lived in Calgary for the first 10 years of their married life. They became members of the Central United Church in Calgary, since there was no Mennonite church in the city until 1942, when they transferred to the newly-established  Mennonite Church.

     Martin continued his modest wholesale business and worked at several places. His income provided for his family and enabled them to build and pay for their own home, which Martin built in 1943.

     In 1947, Martin and Sara Loewen sold their home and moved to B.C. This coincided with the sale of Abraham & Maria Loewen’s farm, and they too moved to the West Coast. Martin’s business in Calgary was not immediately sold because it provided a steady source of income. The business in Calgary thrived, evidenced by the fact that for the first two years after moving to B.C., Martin returned to Calgary for several months each summer to sell vegetables. In addition, records show that he continued to ship fresh Valley fruit to Calgary as late as 1953.

     The second year in B.C., Martin came home from his Alberta stay with a new car and $3000.00 in his pocket. Business in Calgary had been good. As much as he hated to give up this income, he realized that the family could not continue being left alone for several months each year.

     Martin cleared a 20-acre piece of land on Gladwin Road in Abbotsford, selling two acres to his parents, where they and daughter, Tina, lived. Martin farmed strawberries and kept a small mixed dairy farm in the first years. By 1953, he had resumed his fruit and vegetable wholesale career and established a small but thriving business—Hub Produce Ltd. – that provided for his family of 10 and which he maintained until his retirement. Martin dabbled in retail for a short, unsuccessful period as well, operating a grocery store, the Clearbrook Food Market.

     Martin and Sara were members of the West Abbotsford Mennonite Church, where they were actively involved in serving. Martin ushered and served on a variety of external committees, as well as serving on the Mennonite Benevolent Society Board and Executive for 17 years, including Vice-Chair. He joined the building committee for the construction of the Clearbrook Mennonite Church, but soon decided to remain at West Abbotsford.

     Martin had a generous and welcoming spirit, and was known for his support of church camps and Bible School with donations of fruit and vegetables from his warehouse. Sara managed the home and served as bookkeeper for Martin’s businesses. She was very active in their church community as well, providing leadership to women’s groups and Bible Studies, and after Martin’s passing, she became the first elected female deaconess at West Abbotsford Mennonite Church. Sara was also a charter member of the Clearbrook Golden Age Society, in which she gave much of her time in seeing a thriving Seniors’ community established.

     Martin and Sara loved to travel with family and friends, especially making short jaunts down the U.S. West Coast and regular shopping trips to Seattle. On numerous occasions, they traveled to Alberta to visit family, leaving their children at home to “mind the farm”. In 1967, Martin was the first family member to return to the USSR to visit brother, Jacob. Sara travelled more extensively overseas – Europe, Caribbean Islands, Haiti, Australia, and New Zealand.

     Martin died of cancer, in September, 1978, at age 71; Sara lived another 22 years and passed away in March, 2000, at the age of 85. Their direct descendants number 33 (2023).