WING COMMANDER RUDYARD (RUD) BRACE WAITT

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WING COMMANDER RUDYARD (RUD) BRACE WAITT Peacefully, on November 8, 2006, at Deer Lodge Centre where he had been a resident. He was the son of Ronald Victor and Mary Bertha Ann, born in Winnipeg, December 4, 1916. He attended Wolseley, Isaac Brock and Gordon Bell Schools prior to entering the Military Services. He graduated from the Walter Hinton School of Aeronautics in Illinois, and the Aeronautical Engineering School in Montreal. In his Service career, he enlisted in 1934 in the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1936. He served in Canada and Overseas in England, France, Africa: the Gold Coast (Ghana), Egypt and Libya. In 1945 he married the love of his life, Rita Eve Pelletier. After the Second World War he remained with the RCAF where he rose to the rank of Wing Commander. Upon leaving the Service in 1968, he assumed the position of Manager of Quality Control and Chief Inspector at TransAir Limited. From there he was appointed Manager of the Industrial Workshop for the Society of Crippled Children and Adults of Manitoba. Then for several years he served with the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation. He was active in many community affairs: the Local Residents' Advisory Group for the Midland Area, with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Adults. He served for many years as the President of the Manitoba School for the Deaf Home and School Associations here in Winnipeg, and in Ottawa and in Toronto, where he was a Charter and founding Member of both the Ottawa Parents of the Deaf, and the Ontario Parents' Council of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Rud was an active member of St. John's Cathedral and served on the Vestry in the capacity of both Rector's and Peoples' Warden over a period of many years. He was also a member of Victory Lodge Number 94 B.C.R, AF and AM, and a member of the Khartoum Temple of the Shrine where he belonged to the Chanters' Unit. Rud was predeceased by his beloved wife Rita, (Blue Eyes); five brothers, Norman Ronald and Arthur Stanley (who were both killed in action during the Second World War), Thomas Victor, Douglas Hope and George Osborne Hughes; plus two sisters, Edith Joyce (Stewart) and Veronica Daisy (Craigie). He is survived by his four children, Penny Payne (Daniel), Norman (Barbara), Patricia Jones (Gwyn) and Tom (Brenda). Also surviving are the grandchildren, Graham (Cheryl), Sarah (Austin Wilkinson), Geoffrey, and Russell Payne; Brent and Janice Waitt; Bronwyn (Al Gibson), Selwyn (Denise Vandel) and Meghan (JP Perreault) Jones; Katie, Morgan Carys and Brooks Waitt; and the great-grandchildren, Kaylee and Keegan Payne; Alexandra and Emma Jones; Aidan and Annabelle Perreault. Many thanks to the wonderful staff of T3 for the great care our father received during his residence at Deer Lodge Centre. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, November 14 at 2:00 p.m. at St. John's Cathedral, 135 Anderson. If friends so desire, in lieu of flowers, contributions could be made to the Manitoba School for the Deaf, 242 Stradford, Winnipeg, MB R2Y 2C9.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 10, 2006