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at the Funeral of
Mrs. Colonel Sven Wiberg (R)
Wednesday, July 13, 1960, 1:00 p.m.
conducted by Lt. Colonel Gustav Johanson
Valhalla, New York
Brigadier Hugo Wiberg
Committal Service at Kensico Cemetery
2:00 p.m.
Conducted by Lt. Colonel Gustav Johanson
The Committal: "As it has pleased Almighty God to promote our dear comrade, Mrs. Colonel Sven Wiberg, from her place as an Officer in The Salvation Army, to the mansion prepared for her above, we now commit her body to the grave, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in the sure and certain hope of seeing her again on the Resurrection Morning."
"God bless and comfort all the bereaved ones!" "Amen!"
"God help us who are left to be faithful unto death!" "Amen!"
"God bless The Salvation Army!" "Amen!"
Prayer and Benediction
On Sunday, July 10, from her home in Bergenfield, N. J., Mrs. Colonel Sven Wiberg (R) went to be with her Lord, bringing to a close a long life of over sixty years of service to God and The Salvation Army.
Eighty-nine years ago, in a small community called Hakarp in the southern part of Sweden, a little girl named Charlotte Anderson was born. Her parents, good, God-fearing people, could not know that those little feet were to wander in strange and distant lands and that her name would be remembered in love and gratitude by many who had been led into paths of righteousness and service through her ministry.
Charlotte's mother and father were members of the State Church of Sweden, but before many years had passed, they left the church and joined a mission. Being venturesome souls it was not difficult for them to show interest in the strange people who began to hold meetings in their town, and called themselves "Fralsningsarmen"--The Salvation Army. Charlotte always remembered her first Army meeting, sitting beside her father and being captivated by all that went on.
Neither she nor her parents became Salvationists at that time. When she was sixteen, they came to the United States and it was not long before Charlotte had become a Salvationist and an Officer.
In 1898 she was married to Ensign Sven Wiberg of New Britain, Conn. They were married at Providence [their wedding invitation says New Haven, CT] and spent the next seven years in field and staff appointments in Boston and Chicago, in the Scandinavian Department.
In 1905 came a call to return to Sweden where Brigadier and Mrs. Wiberg served in the Field Department at the territorial center, then to the Training College, where Mrs. Wiberg, who was a born teacher, taught several subjects.
Once more came the call to leave their homeland and to go, with their children, to Japan. This was at the special desire of General Bramwell Booth who wished to see the program for the training of Salvation Army Officers established and maintained.
Mrs. Wiberg, her courageous spirit far from being daunted by this sudden transfer to a totally new environment, gave her heart completely to Japan and its people, learning in a remarkably short time to speak that difficult language.
Colonel and Mrs. Wiberg left Japan in 1920, returning for a short term to the Training College in Stockholm and then once more to the United States where the Colonel was the leader of the Scandinavian work in the Eastern Territory until their retirement in 1930.
It is thirty years since retirement, and Mrs. Wiberg has not been very much in the public eye since that time, yet there are countless men and women in all parts of the country, indeed of the world, who remember Mrs. Wiberg for her patient and loving guidance as they sought to know God's will for their lives. Many a deeply troubled soul has found liberty and light through her gracious ministry--a ministry performed not without a deep sense of her responsibility toward God.
One Sunday morning she was to give the message in the Holiness Meeting at the Belmont Hill Camp Grounds in Worcester. She was deeply concerned that her words should be directed and inspired by God Himself. Rising very early, she wandered into the woods about the camp and for two hours communed in the sweetness of dawn with her Lord. That morning the presence and power of the Holy Spirit was manifest long before the close of the service.
She has gone Home, her warfare ended, her tasks accomplished, leaving in the hearts of all who knew and loved her warm and fragrant memories of a beautiful life given in loving service for God and for His Kingdom.
The thoughts and prayers of many will be with Mrs. Wiberg's sons, Brigadier Hugo of Worcester, Mass.; Samuel in Johannesburg, South Africa; Caleb, in Livingston, N. J.; and Sven in West Palm Beach, Fla. Mrs. Wiberg's life was greatly enriched in her later days, not only by her children, but by thirteen grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren.
