Ruth Marie KNUTSON

1929 - 2022

KNUTSON, Ruth Marie 1929 - 2022 The passing of Ruth Knutson of Outlook, Sask, occurred on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at the Outlook & District Health Centre, at the age of 92 years. Mom was born on October 16, 1929, on the family dairy farm on the North edge of Saskatoon. The farm site is now the home of the SaskTel Centre. She was the second youngest of 14 children to Maude & Henry Kusch. A family of 8 boys and 6 girls. In April 1883, her grandparents Julia and Karl Kusch and seven children were the first family to settle in Saskatoon, and her father, Henry was the first Caucasian baby born in Saskatoon. Thus, given the name "Saskatoon's First Family" which is on the monument that was erected for the Kusch family in Sutherland in Saskatoon. About 40 miles South of Saskatoon, on Julia & Karl's journey, they crossed a creek. As the oxen scrambled up the bank, a crock of black strap molasses rolled out of the Kusch wagon and crashed on the rocks below. The creek henceforth named "Black Strap". A bit of family history from the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Mom lost her mother at an early age and when her father could not care for her and 2 siblings, they were sent to St. Patrick's Orphanage in Prince Albert. When she was 16, she went to work at the hospital in Biggar on the maternity floor, cleaning the operating room, case room, sterilizing instruments & looking after newborn babies. It was there in Biggar that she met, fell in love with and married Lorne Pettigrew, and soon welcomed her first child, daughter Carol. And a year later, a baby boy, Dana. After a few years their marriage ended & mom became a single parent raising two kids on her own. In 1958 she put an ad in the Western Producer, looking for work as a housekeeper. She received 43 letters from all over in reply and decided to take the job offered to her by a "very sincere sounding, widowed farmer, with a 6-year-old son" named Elmer Knutson, and son Lyle. Her work led to a relationship that grew into a marriage and family. Daughter Nordis was born in March 1960, and Adele on Dad's birthday, January 18th, 1963. Interestingly, The Western Producer did a feature article in the 1980's about couples who had met through their newspaper and mom and dad were one of the couples they interviewed and did a story on.Dad farmed with four of his brothers, Art, Gay, Lloyd & Eddie. Whosever's' farmland they were on, that's who did the cooking, so mom and the other wives were kept very busy. In those days, they took dinner out at noon, coffee at 3pm, and supper at 6! Mom was a great cook and always had room at her table for one or two more. She could re-invent leftovers to be as good or better than the meal before. She also loved to bake, and was known for her great coffee, fresh cinnamon buns, & her hot cross buns were said to be "The Best"! She always enjoyed company and would put on a fresh coffee and have baking ready to serve when anyone stopped by. Mom loved to spend time in her yard tending her big garden and her many, many varieties of plants & flowers. She always created beautiful floral bouquets and would display them proudly on her counter all summer. Gladiolas were a favorite. She enjoyed picking berries of any kind and made many delicious jams & jellies. She would give away as many jars as she kept. Mom & Dad enjoyed many fishing trips & good times up North with their boat and friends Harry & Irene Daniluk, Bob & Irene Taylor, sister Lorna & brother-in-law Dugie to name a few. They were also die-hard Rider's fans and season ticket holders with Bob & Irene Taylor for 40 years. Many times, dad would fly them to the game in his plane. Mom loved playing cards, especially the cards nights with Eunice, Bev & Shirley. She enjoyed playing BINGO and rarely missed a Tuesday night at the Civic Centre. She was good at Scrabble and in recent years would have multiple games going with family members on her iPad. Mom & Dad did quite a bit of travelling and went on some very nice vacations. They saw most of Canada through dad's curling, attended numerous Grey Cups, The Silver Broom in Switzerland, WWII Liberation Anniversaries in Holland and to Hawaii. Mom was an active member of the community as well. She was a long-time member of the Loreburn/Elbow Legion & Ladies Auxiliary, Heartland Health District Auxillary, Elbow Seniors Club, Civic Centre Board, UCW Quilters & Rink Auxiliary. She belonged to Bethel Lutheran Church & LCW for many years. Mom & Dad brought us to church and led us to a relationship with Jesus. She would say "If you don't have time for Jesus, don't expect Him to have time for you!" Mom was very generous with her time & money. She supported many charities such as The Gideons, Compassion, WYCLIFFE Bible Translators/Karen Olson, Elbow Bible Camp & Billy Graham Ministries. She never forgot a birthday or a wedding anniversary and was a wonderful friend to many. She will be deeply missed, especially by us, her family. A Funeral Service was held on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at Bethel Lutheran Church in Elbow, Sask. with interment at the Elbow Cemetery. __________________________________________________