DEANNA GAIL RUFFESKI

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DEANNA GAIL RUFFESKI

With profound sadness we accept the leaving of Deanna Gail Ruffeski from her earthly bonds on February 14, 2022, to join her parents, Oscar and Lydia Miller and brother Lorne. She leaves behind her loving family, husband Robert, sons, Grant (Dorri), David (Patricia), Jared (Lindsay) and granddaughters, Genessa and Madison.
A loving wife, mother, grandmother, Deanna was born July 23, 1938, and raised and spent her life living in Winnipeg with her parents, husband, and children.
Deanna attended Isaac Newton High School where unbeknownst to her, met her future husband, Robert. During the locker key/assignment it was found that the last two to be paired up would have to be co-ed, a first for the school. Deanna and Bob became the first two. They both agreed to give it a try, but it wasn't long before Deanna's neatness and Bob's basketball shorts and running shoes did not get along. On more than one occasion, Bob found his less that sweet smelling garments on the floor, outside of the locker, but no verbal complaints nor arguments were heard from either party. They managed to make it through the school year. They married in October 1958.
Deanna was very involved in school activities, singing in the school opera, playing volleyball and basketball on the inter-room teams. She also was selected to represent the school in modelling clothes for Eaton's.
After graduating high school, Deanna entered the business world with the Royal Bank, and was assigned to the head office typing pool. She found that this was not quite what she wanted to do, so she enrolled in and completed an evening course in shorthand, which allows real time diction transcription. Her achievements were noticed, and she transferred to the Broadway branch as a personal stenographer. During this time, she introduced a new, more efficient filing system that was adopted and used.
Although Deanna loved the challenges and rewards of the workplace, in her heart she wanted to spend more time with her family, so when the opportunity presented itself, she left the workforce to focus on raising her family. Daily family meals at the kitchen table were an opportunity for everyone to share the day's events and discuss and resolve any problems encountered. Experience, words of wisdom and a listening ear were always available to guide us on our journeys.
Holidays were always a special time, with none as special as the Christmas dinner Deanna hosted for the family. Days of preparation and planning made for an enjoyable and highly anticipated celebration. From the first smell of turkey roasting in the oven, to the last bite of cheesecake, fun was had by everyone, and a lifetime of memories made.
Deanna had a very special relationship with her mother, and the similarities in their mannerisms gave the appearance of them being sisters. Coming into the house after school always required crawling under the extended phone cord, as the two spoke daily in the afternoon. Friends knew that calling the kids before dinner was a guaranteed busy signal.
When the family rented a cottage, it was only natural that Deanna invited her mom and dad to join along. Upon returning home, the moms talked and found that they both liked cottage life. After a search for the "right" place, Sandy Hook became our second residence. Every summer, come the July 1 schools end, Deanna and her mother packed up the boys and opened the cottage, not to return until school started. Deanna and her mother loved being together at the cottage, not concerned with the clock, just enjoying a country pace of life. Whether taking long walks, meeting other cottagers, stopping to chat with people, digging up plants and rocks or cleaning and cooking the catch of the day, summers were a magical time. Many new friends were made, and Deanna's demeanour was always welcoming new people like an old friend.
The old cottage became the happy place, so much so that it was easy to convince her husband that it should be replaced with something a little more modern, with level floors, insulated walls, and indoor plumbing. No more trips to the well, bathing and washing clothes in the sink or nightly trips to the outhouse.
Bob and Deanna also found time to travel to various places in Canada and the U.S.
Frequent trips were made to the east and west coast of Canada over the years. Whether visiting Vancouver, enjoying Vancouver Island, riding the cable car in Banff, staying at the Edmonton mall, riding the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls or trying to eke a smile out of the guards at the Citadel in Halifax, for all her insistence of not wanting to travel, she enjoyed every minute of it.
As a fastidious planner, it came as quite a surprise when she and Bob embarked on a six-week US driving vacation without any plan or destination. They visited the arch in St. Louis, explored Boystown in Nebraska, dined in Branson, visited the Grand Old Opry and by some coincidence ended up at Graceland during the week of celebration of her other love, Elvis. When she mentioned she was interested in seeing Washington, Bob thought the west coast was a little out of the way, but once he realized it was DC, off they went. Staying a couple of blocks from the White House they walked the grounds, toured the Senate building, and Deanna enjoyed conversing with many of the current elected members they encountered. Walking into an exclusive restaurant on the hill for a glass of ice water, she was met by the owner who after a brief conversation sat them both and served them a beautiful meal, for free. That was Deanna in a nutshell. She charmed everyone she met. Before leaving she wanted to visit the Vietnam Memorial, but no parking could be found. Never one to give up, some may say stubborn in her resolve, she made the executive decision to park in the no-parking zone and deal later with any consequences.
From an early age Deanna always added positive qualities to the task at hand, gave leadership in problem solving, and encouraged taking the high road in a situation. She was always available for a visit or call when advice was needed, help was required, or just to talk about the daily going ons.
Deanna instilled in her boys the values of honesty, character, love of family and working hard towards goals, no matter the roadblocks encountered. These values are carried proudly by them to this day and will be passed on as her legacy.
Saying goodbye is hard, but we will all be together in our own time. Love you Mom.
We are truly grateful to the staff at the Grace Hospice for the compassion and attention they gave to Deanna during her stay with them.
In lieu of flowers, get together with those you love and enjoy the time you spend with them.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 26, 2022