Ruth CUTFORTH

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CUTFORTH: Ruth Dorothea (Roberts ) Cutforth. Mom was born in Dauphin, Manitoba on September 22, 1921 as the oldest living child of Herbert Arthur and Nellie Mary Roberts. She moved as a baby to Hartney, Manitoba and spent her childhood there. Her two sisters, Grenaline and Hazel, were close in age and also her best friends. Two younger brothers, Herbert and Howard, were born into the close-knit family several years later. They moved to Deloraine, Manitoba when Mom was in her mid teens. Although she spent her teenage years in a small prairie town during the “dirty thirties”, life was serene and happy for Mom. She loved to read and did well in school, which lead into a teaching career. She attended Normal School in Winnipeg for teacher training, then taught in one room school houses in southwest Manitoba, “boarding” with townsfolk. Mom met Dad (William Wallace Cutforth) while they were working together correcting high school exams in Winnipeg. They were married on December 24, 1949. Over the next ten years they lived in Swan River, Pine Falls, Selkirk and Brandon where Dad taught or worked as a high school principal, while Mom stayed home to look after the growing family (Herbert, Carol, Dauna and Brian, born from 1950 to 1957). In 1960, they settled in Brandon, and stayed for the next 42 years. After the children all entered elementary school, Mom took a few years to earn a BA at Brandon University, graduating in 1965. Then she taught high school at Elton Collegiate in Forrest, just north of Brandon, until retiring in 1981. When Dad passed away in 1996, Mom moved to Lion’s Manor in Brandon. In 2002 failing health precipitated a move from her beloved Brandon to Richmond, BC, where she was closer to family. Mom enjoyed curling and dancing and in her later years could challenge most people to a game of billiards. She developed lasting friendships everywhere she went. Mom, we will remember your beautiful alto singing voice shared over the years in church choirs, your delicious dinners, your unique laugh, your many knitted nic-nacs and especially your warm, loving personality. Ruth will be missed by her surviving family: son Herbert Wallace Cutforth (Alice Frost) and grandsons Christopher and Jeremy; daughter Carol Mary Cutforth (John Campbell) and grandson Aaron; daughter Dauna Ruth Cutforth (Peter Biggs) and grandchildren Adam, Zoe, and Simeon; son Brian William Cutforth (Gabrielle Kruper) and grandson David Steinmetz, sisters Gren and Hazel, sister-in-law Marie, and many nieces and nephews. Mom passed away peacefully at Richmond Hospital on April 21, 2011. A memorial service was held on April 30th in Richmond BC. On June 18th, interment was at Rosewood Memorial Gardens, Brandon, with memorial service at First Baptist Church. If friends desire, donations can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

As published in Brandon Sun on Jul 09, 2011