Ruth Marie Gibbons
February 12, 1928 — March 2, 2025
Ruth Marie Gibbons (nee Ullrich), passed away on Sunday March 2nd, 2025 at the age of 97. She was born in Wyoming, Ontario on February 12, 1928 to Charles and Anna Ullrich. She had four older sisters who called her “little fat Charlie” because she looked so much like her Dad. Her name became “Rudy” because her Uncle Fred used to call her “Rudy poody pudding’ n pie”. As a baby she lived in Rostock, Ontario and as she grew the family went to Stratford, Corunna and finally on September 3, 1939 (a week before Canada declared war on Germany) her parents moved the family to London, Ontario.
She was educated at Westervelt College (now Anderson College) in London and got her first job in 1944 (aged 16) at the Institute of Public Health which was part of the University of Western Ontario. She also worked for a lawyer at the firm Siskin and Gillies for a time.
Also in 1944 she met her husband, Ray, at a Wonderland dance and married him when she was only 19 in 1947. (They were together for 59 years until Ray passed in 2006). She did secretarial work at Bell Canada until 1951 when she quit to have her first baby. The people at Bell told her that she always had a job with them should she ever want one.
She stayed home to be with her children as she and Ray moved from London to Dundas to a farm outside of what is now Cambridge, Ontario and then to Woodstock. It was here that she eventually returned to work and became a highly efficient medical secretary to several doctors. When she retired she had to be replaced by two people. Rudy would be in Woodstock for over 50 years and during that time she was the first person in her circle of friends and family to read a book on aerobics in the 1960s.
From that point on (until she broke her hip and later her pelvis in her late 80s) she was a fitness enthusiast. Ray and Rudy jogged together and loved sailing a 27 C&C for many years in Port Dover. Rudy was also a gardener. She loved to dance and played a lot of bridge and euchre over her lifetime.
She was a volunteer at the Woodstock soup kitchen as well as being an expert baker. No one ever refused one of her butter tarts or her pies, for that matter. After they were both retired Ray and Rudy spent many winters in Portugal, in addition to other trips such as to New Zealand and Australia.
Rudy was a caring mother, wife, neighbour and friend. She found a lot of comfort in her final years at PeopleCare in Tavistock, Ontario. Her caregivers loved her to the end.
She was predeceased by her daughter Joanne Lucas and all of her sisters and their spouses: Peg Richardson (Everett), Vera Hauck (Robert), Marian Proudfoot (Bill) and Helen Romanson (Jack).
She is survived by her other three children and their spouses: Susan Dietrich (Nicholas), Michael Gibbons (Marjie) and Stephen Gibbons (Julie) and all of her grandchildren: Matthew Gibbons, Benjamin Gibbons, Jonathan Lucas, Janice Yeaman, Jenny Gibbons, Emily Gibbons, Christy Gibbons, Jeremy Dietrich and Leah Dietrich. She was also blessed with 10 great grandchildren.
Just a few weeks before her 97th birthday she was heard to say, “What a wonderful life”. Yes indeed.
If so desired, donations in memory of Ruth can be made to Von Sakura House.
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