Ruth English

Ruth English was born October 16, 1938, in Erickson Manitoba, to parents Ann and Tom Soltys.  Jean was the first born, Ruth was the second child, followed by Inez and Alan.  

Ruth went to school in Erickson and had her first job when she finished school at the Co-Op store in Erickson. She transferred to the Co-Op store in Regina and then transferred to Co-Op in Winnipeg, it was there that she met Bob Doherty, whom she married in 1961 and in 1963 her son Gary was born.  Ruth and Bob divorced in 1968. 

Ruth was working at Dominion Store in Winnipeg where she met the love of her life and soulmate Vern English.   

They married in September of 1969 and their family was complete in April of 1970, with the birth of their son Glen. 

In the early years, they had many family getaways to Lake of the Woods to their friend's, Fred and Gladys cabin, where numerous laughs and memories were made.  Other notably memories included camping at Birds Hill, watching Gary’s hockey and t-ball. 

In the summer of 1974 Ruth, Vern and the boys packed up and moved to Brandon to pursue life in a smaller town and to be closer to family in Erickson.  

In the fall of 1974, Ruth began her 20-year career working at Safeway in the Brandon Shoppers Mall until her retirement in 1994.  

In the late 1970’s they built a cabin at Otter Lake where they spent numerous years enjoying time with friends and family.  

Over the years they had many holidays which included trips with their group of friends to Puerto Vallarta, family vacations to Disneyland, Disneyworld and many camping trips out west. 

Gary married Angie in 1992 and in 1994 Ruth became a grandma, to Kaitlyn.  Newly retired from Safeway, Ruth got to spend many days looking after Kaitlyn, creating a very special bond, it was then where she got nicknamed Grandma-Good-Times by Kaitlyn.  In 1999, her first grandson was born, Ryan. Ruth was also able to look after Ryan throughout the week for the first two years, before Ruth and Vern moved to Erickson.  They had many good times with Kaitlyn and Ryan during the summer at Otter Lake, Erickson and Clear Lake.  

Glen started University in Thunder Bay, he then moved to Vancouver, where he met his son-to-be wife, Nathalie, soon after that, Glen followed Nathalie back to her home in Montreal. They were married in 2001 and in 2002, their oldest son Philippe was born, followed by Chloe in 2004 and Thomas in 2007.  

Ruth and Vern travelled 2-3 times a year to Quebec to visit the family.  Ruth loved to go to Quebec.  They travelled there until her health would not allow her to travel anymore.  

Ruth loved being with family, she was a very kind and caring person. She helped many people throughout her life, including her Aunt Stella and opening their home for friends' children to stay with them.   She belonged to the Erickson legion and legion auxiliary. Ruth also volunteered with many activities, which included making perogies at the Ukranian church in Erickson. But her favorite thing was when her grandkids would come visit. She loved to travel with her grandchildren to watch their sports, which included Philippe’s hockey and baseball, Chloe’s hockey and dance and Thomas, hockey, baseball and football.  Living so close to Kaitlyn and Ryan, they never missed a game or tournament of Kaitlyn’s volleyball and soccer and Ryan’s football and hockey, which took them across Manitoba, into the United States, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Ruth and Vern were their number one fans. She truly loved being with all of her grandchildren.  

Ruth spent the last 6 years in Erickson Personal Care home, where she was given excellent care by the staff. 

Ruth always had a smile for everyone, her million-dollar smile.  She genuinely loved connecting with people and had a heart of gold.  

Survived by her loving husband and best friend of 55 amazing years, Vern English, two sons Gary Doherty (Angie) and Glen English (Nathalie) and grandchildren, Kaitlyn (Jesse), Ryan (Dani), Philippe, Chloe and Thomas. As well as sister-in-law Valerie Soltys and brother-in-law Tom Gray.

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