After 104 years the long, courageous and beautiful life journey of Ruth Lenore Hughes (McEwen) has come to an end. On March 13, 2017, holding hands with her family, Mom simply stopped breathing. It was amazingly peaceful for her. Ruth was born in Selkirk, Manitoba, on November 4, 1912. She was the beloved youngest child of Dugald and Annie McEwen and grew up surrounded by five brothers and four sisters. That branch of the family tree ends with her passing but her many nieces and nephews, and grand and great-grand and great-great-grandnieces and nephews, ensure the McEwen tree continues to thrive. The first century of Ruth's life was filled with music, social activism, service to her country, marriage, family, pets and service to others. She marched against fascism in the 1930s, joined the army to fight it in the 1940s, and there met her husband Bert (Hughie). After the war they moved to British Columbia and started their own family, returning to Winnipeg in 1958. To her great sorrow, in 1978, after 36 years together, Ruth lost the love of her life to cancer. Missing her dearly are her children Nym and Ian, their partners Sarah and Carol, grandchildren Toby (Robyn), Laina (Jory), step-grandchildren Siobhan (Greg) and Sarah (Shaun) and step-great-granddaughter Sophia. Over the course of a century Ruth made hundreds of friends. Being who she was, they remained close to her despite separations of distance and time, and we thank them for their love and support over the last few trying days. Ruth's home for the past four years was Lions Personal Care Centre in Winnipeg. We thank the staff for their constant warm and tender care, especially the incredible kindness shown to her and us as her life came to its close.
A celebration of Ruth's life will be held in the Gateway Room of the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, Monday, March 20, at 2:00 p.m. Ruth's western family and friends can join us at a celebration in Vancouver April 9 at the Langara Golf Course Clubhouse. Rather than flowers we would welcome donations to the Winnipeg Humane Society, or your local Humane Society, in her name.