ROBERT KENNETH RUTHERFORD

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ROBERT KENNETH RUTHERFORD As a result of a heart attack at his home on 859 Wilkes Ave., Winnipeg, MB, Bob Rutherford, husband of Mona, dad to Ken, Ross, Nancy, Bruce and Beth, father-in-law to Jane, Dori, Rick and Bambi; grandfather to Kate and Sam, Courtney and Stephanie, Sara and Stacey, Brittany and Josh; brother to Marge; brother-in-law, uncle, cousin and friend to the many whom he met and enjoyed as he travelled his own road of life, died quietly/peacefully on December 5, 2005. Bob was born May 20, 1919 to Lorne and Bessie Rutherford, and spent the years of his youth and early adulthood in the communities of Rosser and Grosse Isle where the memories of farm life, threshing days, family times with Uncle Alex and Uncle Norm Rutherford's families, and summer evenings filled with his favourite sport of baseball, were made. Bob completed his schooling in Grosse Isle, graduating from Grade 12. His love of the land and desire to farm led him to enroll in the Agriculture program at the University of Manitoba. The war interrupted his educational ambition and he took up the call to serve, enlisting in 1942. He received training as a meteorologist and spent most of the war years stationed in Gander, NF. His years in the Air Force were ones he remembered as though they were yesterday and he would willingly recount his many experiences, particularly those shared with Jim Dunn of B'aie D'urfe, QC, a special friendship that lasted until the day of Bob's death. When the war ended, Bob returned to Rosser and the family farm to work with his dad Lorne. In 1950, he married Mona Matheson and quickly their lives changed with the births of five children from 1951 to 1960. In 1955, a move from the family farm in Rosser to the Matheson family farm in Grassmere offered them new possibilities until leaving in 1998. Farming was not his only activity as over the years the wider community benefited from his involvement as a 4-H leader; delegate to Manitoba Pool Elevators; Chair of the Area Development Board; and Member of the local Co-op Board, to name but a few. As Bob reached the magic age of 65 in 1986, he said goodbye to the ups and downs of life as a farmer, choosing instead to be a very interested observer and to daily express, very vehemently, his feelings for all those who continued to sow and reap , despite the odds which challenged them. Even retirement could not take away the fact that farming was in his blood, and obviously in his dreams, as even in his 86th year, he would awake in the morning feeling tired from having combined through the night! Bob loved the opportunity to meet and chat with people, be it in the local coffee shop in Stonewall or his neighborhood Tim Horton's in Winnipeg, at a meeting, in the church, or over a game of pool with the men in his building. It was easy for him to strike up a conversation with anyone and he could not understand why others would find it difficult for surely once you are talking you are no longer strangers. Throughout his life Bob was an active member of the United Church, worshipping and participating in the life of the church community where he lived: Rosser, Grassmere, Stonewall and in the last number of years, Crestview United. Despite his aging years when he and Mona retired to Winnipeg and became members of Crestview, he found and thoroughly enjoyed making new friends, enjoying occasions with the Fun Seekers, and being the recipient of one of his favourites, matrimonial cake, especially made for him by one particular male friend. There is a saying that God created human beings because God loved stories. Bob's life was a story filled with rich experiences, with joys, sorrows, frustrations and celebrations. So it is with thanksgiving and tears we invite family and friends to gather and celebrate with us his story on Friday evening, December 9, 7:00 p.m. at Westworth United Church, 1750 Grosvenor Ave. (the corner of Lanark Street and Grosvenor). Interment will take place at Grassmere Cemetery at a later time. Flowers are gratefully declined but if friends so wish, donations may be made to Crestview United Church, 316 Hamilton Ave., Winnipeg, MB R2Y 2H5. NEIL BARDAL INC. 949-2200

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 08, 2005