Ruth Newman

Ruth Newman, age 94, on 22 Oct 2011

Ruth Beatrice Newman (nee Coulter) (2 July 1917 - 20 October 2016) was an award-winning pianist, insurance claims adjuster, and longtime widower from Canada.

Early life

Ruth was born in Calgary, Alberta, on 2 July 1917 to Reverend Joseph Coulter and Williamina Bessie Coulter.

ARCT prize ceremony, 21 October 1941

She received the Associate, Royal Conservatory Toronto (ARCT) teaching diploma in a ceremony on 21 October 1941. She received the prize for top marks that year.

Marriage and family

She married Bruce Newman on 10 October 1942 and had three children by him:

• Sandra Hugheen (born 5 August 1944)
• Evelyn Elaine Louise "Lynn" (born 19 July 1946)
• Mary Ann (born 30 July 1950)

Ruth named her first-born daughter's middle name after her brother Hubert Coulter who had died 7 May 1943 in WWII.

Ruth named her second-born daughter after her brother Everett Coulter who had died 20 February 1944 in WWII.

Ruth has 10 grandchildren:

• By Sandra: Megan, Meredith, Laura, Patrick
• By Evelyn: Alexander, Vanessa, Andrew, Stephen
• By Mary Ann: Michael, Carolyn

As of 2018 she has 9 great-grandchildren:

• By Meredith: Charlotte, Aria (born 6 July 2016)
• By Vanessa: Brynn (born 6 January 2014)
• By Andrew: Benjamin, Holly, Dominic, Bridget
• By Carolyn: Cole, Bentley (both born 31 December 2017)

Thus, all her blood descendants remain alive, and they number 3 + 10 + 9 = 22.

Timeline

Date	Age	Location	Event
2 July 1917	0	Calgary	Born
July 1923	6	Jasper Park	Moved
July 1927	10	Little Current, Manitoulin Island	Moved
July 1931	14	Scarborough Junction	Moved
July 1933	16		Obtained Driver's License
21 June 1938	20		Sat for Grade 10 Royal Conservatory piano exam
July 1938	21	Milverton Boulevard	Parents moved to Sunderland, so she began boarding at Milverton Boulevard
July 1941	24		Parents moved to Waverly Boulevard, to retire when father was 70. They inherited $7000 from the hermit (!) bachelor uncle of mother. Grandmother came to live with them.
19 June 1941	23		Sat for ARCT exam
21 October 1941	24		ARCT Concovation Ceremony; Won prize for top marks
17 March 1942	24		St Patrick's Day Dance; Ruth played piano for the event; this was the day she met her future husband Bruce Newman
June 1942	24		Engaged to be married to Bruce
10 October 1942	25		Married Bruce Newman
October 1942	25	2040 Gerrard Street East, Toronto	Rented flat at Gerrard Street East
July 1944	27	Bungalow on Sutherland Avenue, Leaside, Don Mills	Purchase a house
5 August 1944	27		Sandra Hugheen born.
19 July 1946	29		Evelyn Elaine Louise "Lynn" born.
18 July 1948	31		Mother died of complications during gall bladder surgery. Grandmother died soon after, of a broken heart.
July 1949	32	Appleby Road in Islington (later Etobicoke, now Toronto)	Moved because Bruce was headhunted for a job with Ontario Hydro
30 July 1950	33		Mary Ann born
July 1954	37	#9 Chelford Street, Don Mills	Moved since Bruce went back to Sangamo Company
16 March 1960	43		Father dies
1961	43	Guelph. (College Street?)	Moved
1962	44	Tan Valley, Toronto	Moved to a "beautiful house!" - Ruth
1963	45	Guelph. (University Street?)	Moved
27 June 1968	50		Bruce dies
July 1968	51	18 The Donway East, Don Mills, Ontario	Moves into a second-floor apartment, where she will live for over 41 years.
July 1982	65		Visits Thunder Bay to help her daughter Mary Ann raise her son, infant Michael Currie
Circa 2002	85		Stops driving her very old white car (model?)
2003 January to April, September to December	86		Lets her grandson Michael Currie live with her in the second bedroom.
March 2010	92	Greenview Lodge, 880 Lawrence Avenue East	A series of strokes forced her to be moved out of her longtime residence in Don Mills. She initially moved to Greenview Lodge, 880 Lawrence Avenue East, just up the street from her apartment.
Later in 2010	93	Allandale Long Term Care, Milton, Ontario	Moved to long-term care facility, with frequent visits and extra care provided by her daughter Sandra, who was living and working nearby.
20 October 2016	99		Died.

Life as a widow

On 27 June 1968, after 25 years of marriage, Ruth was widowed when Bruce died suddenly at age 50. She never remarried. Ruth kept a photo of Bruce by her bedside for the rest of her life.

From July 1968 to March 2010, she lived on her own in a rented apartment at 18 The Donway East, in Don Mills, Ontario. Her phone number for those years was 416 444 6583.

Having moved over a dozen times in her life, perhaps she was tired of decamping on a regular basis, and so she chose to remain in place for a long time.

On 1 July 2007 she celebrated her 90th birthday at her daughter Sandra's home in Speyside, Ontario, between 13:00 and 17:00. The invitation letter to the family, from granddaughter Megan Kenzie, read in part:

The 90th Birthday of Everyone’s Favourite Relative:

Our lady of Don Mills, The Former High Jump Champion of Manitoulin Island, Piano Player Extraordinaire, Mother of the Newman Girls, Grandma, Great-Grandma, sister, sister-in-law, aunt…

Ruth Newman !

— Megan Kenzie, July 2007

In 2010, a series of strokes forced her to be moved out of her longtime residence in Don Mills.

She initially moved to Greenview Lodge, 880 Lawrence Avenue East, just up the street from her apartment.

The mothers have gone through everything from Grandma's apartment. Some stuff has gone with her. Special/valuable/nostalgic/useful items have been distributed between the mothers. Attached are a few photos of some of the things that are left. See following email for second set of pics. We are trying to clear most things out of the apartment this week, and the rest by mid-April. Let me know if you want anything you see here, and we will keep it.

— Email, Megan Kenzie, 21 March 2010

Later in 2010, she moved to Allandale Long Term Care, in Milton Ontario. She remained there for the next 6 years, with frequent visits and extra care provided by her daughter Sandra, who was living and working nearby.

Ruth Newman's grandchildren, summer 2011. From left: Megan Kenzie, Alex Atherton, Meredith Van Viegen, Vanessa Atherton, Andrew Atherton, Michael Currie, Laura Kenzie, Stephen Atherton, Carolyn Trottier, Patrick Kenzie

Death

She died 20 October 2016, at age 99, in her 100th year.

Sources

Self

Timeline was described to her grandson Michael Currie personally in 2003.