On December 3, 2023 in her 97th year, Ruth slipped anchor to join her beloved Charlie to sail off together into a distant sea only the stars know where.

 

Adored, devoted mother to Jane (Eduard) John (Paula) Joe (Michelle) Joan (Allan). Gram to Sarah (Jesse), Charlie, Benjamin, Nathanial and Keegan. Great Gram to Phaedra. Aunt to numerous nephews and nieces. Friend to many. Lover of Sunday dinners and Sinatra, charity walks and rummage sales. Knitter of dozens of coveted Christmas stockings and cherished cozy sweaters. Fiercely proud North Ender and graduate of St. John’s High School, telephone operator at The Bay and dedicated volunteer: canteen lady at Riverview CC, Ladies Guild at St Alban’s and top raffle ticket seller at Victoria Hospital among many other charitable endeavours. A fall watching her son’s hockey game resulted in a lifelong disabled arm. Yet she never complained about her affliction.

 

Grand Beach was of more than a little import as it was where she met the love of her life, Charlie. Their masquerade costumes invariably won top prize at the GB community centre. She came in first in the 80 plus category at GB Sun Run well into her nineties and was the oldest participant in the GB grocery scramble where she would fail to hear the “ready set go” and would only manage to pick up one roll of toilet paper. Ruth was known to many for cruising the boardwalk sans cane or walker to watch the greats play volleyball.

 

Her condo on the river was her little piece of heaven. She had her way and lived independently there until a recent fall lead to her demise. Funny and feisty she was always grateful. Her sense of humour found a way to make light of any dark situation whether it was to threaten Bub’s non-existent girlfriend in heaven or ask if anyone was feeding Oscar, her stuffed dog. Her form of discipline was to wave the wooden spoon with the unhappy face at her 6-foot son and threaten, “Do you see this? Do you want the wooden spoon?” But she never used it! Our school chums fondly remember coming to our home for her classic lunch of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

 

Her famous epi-grams: “Every day is a bonus.” “How lucky am I? I had the best husband and 4 rotten kids.”  “What’s on your radar?” “Life’s too short to worry about what other people think.” “Light candles and eat dinner together every day”, and “Who loves you the most?”

 

Our strengths emerged from hers, we build on her resilience. We watched in awe as this woman plowed the furrows of a long life in an energetic and generous manner.  She will be remembered for her small acts: for how she pulled us in a wagon to the Osborne Library, for the corny gifts at Christmas and creative treasure hunts, for endless hours of playing cars at the mechanic garage or batting balloons with her grandchildren, for her tireless care of Charlie when he suffered from Parkinson’s. And always with attentiveness and boundless love. Our enduring memory will be of Gram consistently waving goodbye to us from her balcony.  

 

There will be no funeral as she wished. And she would think this obituary to be too much of a fuss.

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Ruth's family kindly requests that all of her friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour her memory by watching the photo-biography above. Please, also consider sharing your own photos, memories, and stories by making use of the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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