Obituary of Ruby Martinson

MARTINSON, Ruby Francis, age 87 years of Swift Current, passed away Friday Dec 9,2022 at the Cypress Regional Hospital with her daughter (and nurse Cassidy) by her side.

Ruby is survived by her daughter, Tracy (Derryl) Wiebe of Swift Current; a son Carley Martinson of Swift Current; grandchildren: Taylor (Kalisha) and Riley (Simone) Wiebe, both of Saskatoon. Three sisters: Elly Moe of Swift Current, Ruth MacDougal of BC and Peggy Paul of Calgary; One brother-in-law:  Gary (Carol-Ann) Martinson of Calgary, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her parents, Emilie and Berthold Busse; son Darcy Martinson; sister Alma Laing; brothers Albert and Gordon Busse; The father of her children, Glenn Martinson; Five brothers-in-law: Tillman Moe, George Laing, Doug MacDougal, Joe Paul, Darryl Martinson and a Sister-in-law, Carol Dalzell.

Ruby was born November 18,1935 on a farm near Hallonquist, delivered by her father. She attended the Wiwa View School, which was a one room, one teacher class with grades 1-9 together. When she was 14 the family moved into Herbert.  Her first paying job was at the Veterans Dry Cleaners, but most of her life she was a homemaker.

In 1960, she married Glenn Martinson and over the years had 3 children: Tracy, Darcy and Carley.  They divorced in 1982.

Mom loved sewing and needle work (petit point, crocheting doilies, knitting). She made patterns for her old dolls and designed each of them a beautiful wardrobe. This kept her hands busy and her mind occupied. But her main pass time was music. When popping in for a visit, often you’d catch her singing while playing the accordion in the back bedroom.

Then there were her twin grandsons, Taylor and Riley. She loved them to pieces and was the best grandma!  Recently she made sure to watch ‘The Office’, one of the boy’s favorite TV shows, just so they could talk about the episodes when they got together. She also enjoyed getting to know their girlfriends. It was beautiful seeing them all together.

Mom looked after her son Carley at home till he was 41 when, in Sept 2012, he was welcomed into a group home.  Then, Dec of the same year, mom moved into Prairie View. This was wonderful! She went around introducing herself to all her new neighbors; she attended their church services, danced at the entertainment, she ate meals with others in the Parlor (until Covid).  She was a real social butterfly. It was nice that Mom and Carley went through their big changes together. Carley learned how to use the phone and, in the beginning, called her many times a day. Mom loved and looked forward to his calls.

When she turned 80, we had a surprise ‘Line Dance’ birthday party for her. It turned out great as many of her relatives, friends, and new neighbours came.  She continued to talk about this for years. (Others from the building said it was the best entertainment they ever had!)  She was very surprised and very happy. Success!

Over the next several years, her health became a lot more challenging.   But in her last few weeks, she still attended the entertainment which also included a November birthday party where she was one of the honored guests.  And most recently on November 28^th, I took her to see her sister Elly (who is 92) at Cypress house where they had a very good visit over lunch.  I’m so glad we made it that day (blizzard and all).  She was so concerned she’d never get to see her again.

Our hearts are now heavy, yet at the same time relieved. Her pain and struggles are finally over. Mom will be fondly remembered and dearly missed.

Many heartfelt thanks to nurse Cassidy who supported me till the very end and, of course, the rest of the ER team who worked hard to help mom. (EMS, Doctors, Nurses, Lab, X-ray, and ECG).

The memorial service for Mrs. Ruby Martinson was held on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at St. Olaf Lutheran Church with Dr. Rev Greg Kiel Officiating. Donations in Ruby’s memory can be made to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

A livestream of Ruby's service will be available at this link here: 

https://boxcast.tv/view/ruby-martinson-funeral-svstka2lyiup00cjqfwc

Arrangements in the care of Parkside Memorial Funeral Home – Ryan Cappelle and Hayden Cappelle.