Ruth Leola Yule

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Ruth Leola Yule (Schramm) passed away Saturday, August 8, 2020, of heart failure. Born in Oakshela in late August of 1933, she was nearly 87 years old.

Ruth was predeceased by her husband, Cameron; parents Jacob and Katherine (Geib); siblings Irene (Howard) Mogk, Gordon Schramm and Orville (Maryann) Schramm; niece Janice Krokosh; and granddaughter-in-law Laura.

She is survived by her sisters, Bernice (John) Krokosh and Valma (Don) Lemon; sisters-in-law Jean Schramm and Mavis (Lynne) Parsons; children Kathryn Yule, Richard (Lori) Yule, Clinton (Donna) Yule and Scott (Janice) Yule; her grandchildren, James, Alisha (Chris) Hinz, Jordan Styles, Cassidy, Michael (Amy), Nathan and Amy; and great-grandchildren Jesse and Harper. Also mourning her loss are cousins, nieces and nephews.

Mom was quiet and reserved but also a strong and resilient woman. She was born on the farm in Oakshela and raised on farms around Grenfell and Baring. At 13 years old, she moved away from home and got her first job tending to a neighbour’s garden and children and ‘drove’ a team of horses and the hay rake. As a teenager, Mom had a number of jobs and eventually worked for George and Dorothy Leech, who became her surrogate parents.

Mom’s brother was working on a farm in the Baring area, and he introduced Mom to a young man whose family owned the farm next door. At the age of 19, she married our dad, and they settled into life on the farm. Soon after, Kathryn came along, then Richard, then a few years later Clinton, and then, when they thought they were done having children, Scott arrived.

Life was hard, and they were poor. Mom was integral to the farm. Before the kids woke up, she would milk eight cows by hand to sell the cream. She pulled a 50-gallon water tank on wheels to and from the dugout to water her huge garden. She raised up to 1000 chickens to sell as broilers in the summer months and managed the cow herd. Mom baked delicious bread, froze vegetables and canned fruit. She drove the tractor and the grain truck – whatever needed to get done – and yet somehow managed to have a meal on the table at supper time.

As young kids, we remember Mom curling in Baring, her involvement in the Baring Good Companions and our frequent visits with our aunts, uncles and cousins. We had a cabin at Crooked Lake for some of those years, and Mom would take us there while Dad stayed back to farm. We all loved our childhood, and Mom loved being our mom.

After they retired from the farm, Mom and Dad enjoyed travelling by van across Canada and the US and flew to Hawaii. Mom enjoyed this and could remember in great detail the places they visited. They returned to the lake with a seasonal campsite. Dancing became a large part of their lives, and they joined the Kipling, Round Lake and Moosomin dance clubs, where they made some incredible friends. Dad mostly enjoyed the dancing, while Mom mostly enjoyed the fellowship.

Mom was devastated when Dad passed in December of 2016. Her solution to her loneliness was to keep busy. She spent hours and days in her sewing room building incredibly beautiful and intricate quilts – a hobby she had her entire adult life. She and Alisha had a large garden, and Mom continued to tend to it until a few days before her passing. She adopted technology and would Facetime regularly with her kids and grandkids.

Special thanks should be given to the home care staff and nurse Kathryn Markwart, the nurse practitioner Lisa Clark-Musschoot and all those who made it possible for Mom to stay in her home. Also thanks to the Indian Head Hospital for her final days of care.

Despite being quiet and happy with a simple life, Mom made some incredible friends. These friends and her entire family will miss her dearly. She was ready to be with Dad again. We love you, Mom.