Obituary of Margaret Ruth Robinson

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ROBINSON, MARGARET “RUTH”

1939 – 2021

Ruth Robinson (nee McKerracher) passed away suddenly on August 27, 2021.  Born in Toronto, Ruth moved with her parents and sister to several places in Ontario, and later to Saskatchewan.  She attended Luther College High School in Regina and the University of Saskatchewan where she graduated with Arts and Education degrees.  Her first teaching position was in Swift Current where she met her husband Sam.  They moved to several places until they settled with their four children in Saskatoon in 1975.  She then began her extensive volunteer career with a focus on consumer rights and information, mental health, women’s equality and education, homelessness, architectural heritage, and church activities.

Ruth has received many accolades for her volunteer work.  For Ruth, the main motivation to volunteer was “building relationships, having fun, supporting one another, and trying to improve people’s lives”:

1984  Saskatchewan Consumer Award of Merit
1985  YWCA Woman of the Year for community and public service
1988  Canada Volunteer Award from Health and Welfare Canada
1991  Recognition at the Western Canada Psychiatric Rehabilitation Conference for contribution to mental health and awareness
1992  Honorary Member Canadian Home Economics Association
1992  CFQV-TV Saskatoon Citizen of the Year
1999  Dr. Stanley Stead award for leadership in health promotion
2001  Naming of Ruth Robinson Place recognizing volunteer work with the Housing      Coalition to support individuals living with mental illness
2003  Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal
2004  Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal
2008  Certificate of Appreciation, Crocus Co-Operative

Besides volunteer work, she had a passion for cooking, especially with her grandchildren, and for hosting social events in her home.  She was a warm and generous and intelligent person, always ready to lend a hand to anyone in need.  She was often described as a “force”.

Ruth is survived by her husband Sam, her children Paul (Mutsumi Okada), Jane, Karen (Roger Simonot), and Lynne, and granddaughters Mariko, Mirielle, Tara, Amy, and Maggie.  She was predeceased by her sister Joan Sutherland and son-in-law Shawn Blair.

Her family thanks her friends and the community for their overwhelming support and for helping them during their grief.  In lieu of flowers, they suggest donations be made to Crocus Co-operative, (135 Ave. B South, Saskatoon, S7M 1M2), or a charity of your choice.

Ruth’s Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. from Knox United Church.  Masks are required but a Roughrider Shirt is ENCOURAGEDl!  The service will be livestreamed and can be viewed by clicking on Ruth's obituary on this site approximately 10 minutes before the start of the service.
 
Organizations That Ruth Supported

Grosvenor Park United Church
Meals on Wheels
Crocus Co-Operative
Canadian Mental Health Association
Anti-Poverty Coalition
Housing Coalition
Saskatoon Council of Women
National Council of Women
Canadian Federation of University Women
Saskatoon Women’s Coalition -- “Take Back the Night”
Saskatoon Heritage Society
Consumers’ Association of Canada
Saskatchewan Consumers’ Association
Heart and Stroke Foundation

Friends Remembered Ruth
We will always remember Ruth as an active, gentle, very kind person, who invited us into your home on so many occasions. She was so generous and always greeted us as sincere friends. We will miss her deeply.
I remember her as quick witted and a tireless volunteer for important causes. I'm sure she will be missed.
We have worked together on … projects and she was always so helpful, intelligent, full of good ideas and just plain fun. I always admired so much the amount of time she spent working in the community on so many worthy projects. Her contributions will be deeply missed.

She was a wonderful figurehead in so many ways. Your family and our community benefitted so much from her inspiring work and leadership. She will not be forgotten …. We’ll be talking about Ruth during our walks in the forests at Waskesiu.

She has been such an inspiration to so many over the years and will continue to be.
Ruth was a pillar of our community.
Ruth was such a good, kind, and nice person, who pretty well daily demonstrated her concern for her fellow human beings.  She is irreplaceable in every organization she was involved with.
She was such a vibrant spokesperson for women and participated and volunteered in so many organizations and projects.
We will miss her happy smiling presence, always willing to help
I heard a speaker say that the only Bible some people will read in their lives is how we live our lives.  Ruth showed us her kindness, her knowledge, her wisdom, her inclusion, and her faith in action.  She was a wonderful role model.
She will be so missed. We will definitely miss her leadership on the Outreach Committee.

Ruth’s friend submitted this poem in her memory:
When Great Trees Fall

Maya Angelou

When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.

When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.

Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance, fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of
dark, cold
caves.

And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.

Copyright © 2015 by The Estate of Maya Angelou
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York