Obituary of Ruth Smith

BIOGRAPHY SMITH ~ Ruth Clark Smith passed away peacefully in the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre, Lloydminster, Alberta on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at the age of 89 years. Ruth will be sadly missed by her sons Craig Smith and Brent Smith as well as numerous other relatives. The memorial service was conducted from the Maidstone United Church, Maidstone, Saskatchewan on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Ean Kasper officiating. The eulogy was read by Ruth Presley. The hymns sung were "A Child Of The King" and "'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus" accompanied on the organ by June Franks. The interment will be held in the Maidstone Cemetery at a later date. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. CARD OF THANKS The family of Ruth Smith would like to thank the nurses and the staff at the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre for all the care they provided. Thank you to Reverend Ean Kasper for leading such a wonderful service and to Ruth Presley for reading the eulogy. Thank you to the United Church Ladies for providing the lunch. A special thank you to Ruth and Alice for all the help that you gave us during this time. Thank you to everyone who send cards, flowers, made donations and for the phone calls. EULOGY Ruth was born Ruth Clark Ward on August 23, 1921 to George and Lillie Ward in Battleford, Saskatchewan. The second youngest of six children. She was predeceased by her husband Leonard in 1986, her parents George and Lillie, her sisters and brothers: Helen, Bob, Mildred, Ella and John as well as sisters and brothers-in-law. She is survived by her two sons Craig and Brent, both of Maidstone, six sisters-in-law: Margaret, Alice, Elsie, Miriam, Bernice, Alice and one brother-in-law Vernon as well as numerous nieces and nephews. I consider it an honor to have been asked to give the eulogy today. I am Ruth...niece to Ruth by marriage. Aunt Ruth was one of the few people in my adult life that still called me "Ruthie". I was overjoyed when Uncle Leonard married Aunt Ruth, she was a welcome addition to my male dominated extended family. Now don�t get me wrong, Uncle Leonard and Uncle Vernon were very good to me and I loved canned beans and never ever got sick of them! However, Aunt Ruth was a better cook than either of them, and she made really good chocolate cakes. Besides, Aunt Ruth always knew what a girl liked for Christmas, soapy bath things and girly reading material. As we didn't have running water at home, when our family visited the Smith's, Aunt Ruth would always run me bubbles and lay out nice towels. My childhood memories of her are precious. Ruth was raised and finished her schooling in Battleford. Two of her siblings died in childhood and her youngest brother was killed while serving in the Canadian Air Force in WW2. Her first job was in Regina, where she worked until she was needed to come back and help nurse her Mother, which she did nights while working a day job until her mother's death. After her Mother passed away she worked in Peterborough, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia, returning to Battleford in the late 1940's. She moved to Maidstone in the early 1950's joining her father who had moved there to work. Ruth worked for the R.M. of Eldon for several years. It was during this time that she met Leonard Smith, who had been farming in the Dee Valley District for a few years. Leonard and Ruth were married in a quiet ceremony on August 1, 1960 in Saskatoon. Leonard's brother, Vernon and Ruth's niece Dorothy, were their attendants and only guests. They arrived on Dorothy's doorstep and said "get your best dress on, we're getting married today and need you to stand up with us". After a short honeymoon in Waskesiu and La Ronge, they took up residence in a small three room house that Leonard shared with Vernon. Craig was born in April of 1961 in North Battleford. In the fall of 1961 they started building a new house just steps from the old one, which they moved into late 1961 or early 1962. Brent was born December 1962 in North Battleford completing their family. Ruth's years were busy raising two sons, gardening and being a farmer's wife. Ruth decided after the boys got a bit older that she wanted to learn to drive. Leonard immediately dismissed this idea saying "then you'd be gone all the time". Sister-in-law Margaret come to the rescue, taking Ruth to an open field where there was nothing to run into. Although Ruth eventually got her drivers license, she never was a confident driver, nor was she confident in her husband or son's abilities to drive. Common car conversation was "Len, slow down, Len don't drive so fast!" Leonard said the only time she ever encouraged him to drive faster was when he was driving her to the hospital for Brent's birth. Once she hit the ditch, neither of her son's could ever figure out how one could hit a ditch going so slow. Craig and Brent both knew when Ruth uttered the words "I have a bone to pick with you" or started to shake her finger, that they were in trouble. Cookies (or their love of cookies) got them into trouble on more than one occasion. Ruth thought her cookies were safer in the freezer, only to find them all gone when she went to get them, likely with the intention of serving guests. When visiting their good friends the Bowkers in Unity, Mrs. Bowker served a whole plate of cookies, which Craig and Brent promptly ate...all of them...every last crumb! As soon as they all got in the care, Ruth told them how rude it was to eat the whole plate of cookies. Next time they visited, same thing, the plate of cookies came out, remembering the last time, and the scolding they received, neither Craig nor Brent took even one cookie. Again, Ruth had to remind her sons of good manners and how rude it was to not take a cookie when your hostess offered you one! I imagine having two red haired boys, Ruth had plenty of opportunity to "have a bone to pick" or to "finger shake!" The following "goose" story is from my brother Don. While working in Fort McMurray in the summer of 2001, I often slipped up to Maidstone on my time off. On one such occasion, my mother informed me that my sister was planning an 80th surprise birthday party for Aunt Ruth, and if I could pick up Aunt Ruth on my way past her farm, and bring her to Mom's so we could take her for the "supper". What took place when I picked up Aunt Ruth turned out to be a very amusing experience. In front of Aunt Ruth's on the sidewalk stood a Canada goose, surrounded by what seemed like a ton of "excrement". When I went in the house, I asked my Aunt, "Since when did you start raising geese?" to which she replied: "Oh, that (blankety-blank) thing, I wish someone would ring it's neck!" Apparently, it had been orphaned and was raised by neighbors, but it followed someone into Aunt Ruth�s yard. When we took off down the road, this goose started flying a few feet beside and behind the cab. I clocked it at 60 km per hour. If I would slow down, it would go ahead and try to land; if I speeded up, it would try it's best to keep up. We concluded, after a "scientific study" that a Canada goose will fly exactly 60 kph for a least 2 miles! As a result, we never visited without reminiscing about the goose story. Some years later, Aunt Ruth phoned me and informed me that there was a clip in the weather Channel about someone having a similar experience in New Brunswick; but it was complete with a video. I often like to tell how fast a goose can fly whenever given the opportunity or whenever someone would care to listen, but now my only witness, Aunt Ruth, is gone, bless her soul. You just "had" to be there. As well as a good laugh, Ruth enjoyed reading, (especially Danielle Steele books) any kind of games, visiting, ceramics, trips to tea houses, shopping, the lake, campfires, fishing, swimming and calm boat rides. She and all her family found great pleasure in the times they had at the cabin at Loon Lake. Ruth moved into Dr. Hemstock on September 21, 2001. There she resided until July 2010 at which time her failing health required more care and she moved to the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre. She passed away in the evening of January 5th with her sons by her side. When we were together Friday we spent hours sharing memories of Ruth�s life, laughing and telling stories. I could picture her sitting on the sidelines, quietly laughing, as I had seen her do so many times. Family times were so important to her, and I know that us being together, sharing would have made her happy. To you, Aunt Ruth, we promise we will keep this tradition alive. In closing, I would like to share this poem that Ruth's Aunt Daisy wrote. SUNSHINE AFTER RAIN by Daisy Dustin Morgan Life is sometimes full of sadness, And we wonder what is wrong. Then again it's full of gladness, And we greet it with a song, We must take the two together, All the joy and the pain, For in every kind of weather There is sunshine after rain. If we did not have the winter, There would be no joy of the sprint, And we would not care to enter Into realms where angels sing. There will always be much sorrow, But the joy shall be our gain, And remember - perhaps tomorrow - There'll be sunshine after rain. Donations in memory of Ruth may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation or to the Canadian Cancer Society.