William (Bill) Ruble
1937- 2009
Bill died peacefully with his family at his side at Chilliwack General Hospital on September 11, 2009.
Bill will be remembered by Gerry his wife, Kristen (Michael) his `inherited` daughter; his sons Bill (Sandy), Bob (Louisa), Ken (Kim), Mike; and nine grandchildren. He will also be missed by his extended family, Roger and Karen, and Lois and John in both Abbotsford and Vandergrift, Pa. Bill was welcomed at the end of his journey by Jim, his second son.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1937, Bill was the only child of Pauline and William L. Ruble. He graduated as a math and physics major from Thiel College in Greenville, Pa. and went on to graduate work at what is now Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Bill spent much of his working life in the States as a metallurgical engineer dealing with specialized steels. He helped set up a shot plant in Brazil.
Bill immigrated to Toronto in 1985. He made the fatal mistake of answering an ad in the Toronto Star that started `Going Fishing`. He met Gerry and her daughter Kristen. They were married later that year at home in Mississauga.
In 1990, Bill and Gerry moved to Bolton, Ontario where they owned a Color Your World paint store until 2004. Following Kristen and other members of the extended family, Bill and Gerry moved that year to Agassiz where they have lived happily ever since.
Bill was a 15 year friend of Bill W. and Dr. Bob. He will be missed by friends here in BC and back in Ontario.
Bill was a member of the Citizen's Advisory Council until last winter when the throat cancer curtailed his activities. He supported Gerry in her floor curling, faithfully repairing and polishing the Agassiz Floor Curlers' rocks until last year.
Please join us to celebrate Bill's 15th AA birthday at his memorial service on Saturday, September 19, 2009, at 12:30PM at All Saints Anglican Church in Agassiz. Bring your stories and fond memories. Reception to follow in the church hall.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the BC Cancer Drivers Program are requested. Information will be available at the church or from Gerry later on.
Many thanks to those who helped Bill on his final journey; among them Norma, his palliative nurse, Dr. Allison Salter and the ER staff at CGH and our neighbours, Virginia and Louine. We could not have done this without you.
McLean's, 604-847-3477