Mary Rideout

RIDEOUT, MARY T. (nee HODGKINSON) February 19, 1923 to August 16, 2010 I don't want a pacemaker, Mom said, I'm ready to go. And so, the day after an especially bad fall, she got her wish, passing away in Abbotsford Regional Hospital at age 87. Twelve years of Parkinsons Disease had taken their toll. Born in Vancouver to Sidney and Mona (Rose) Hodgkinson, as one of seven children, Mary graduated from Lord Byng High School in 1940. Later she took the train to Galt (now Cambridge) Ontario to join the wartime WRENS (Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service) as a bookkeeper. The next two or three years seem to have been among the happiest in her life. For example, on a wartime trip to Detroit, she and a friend met a couple of US servicemen who noticed (among other things) the insignia on the girls' Navy hats. To their question What does HMCS stand for? the girls, thinking fast, replied Hug Me Closer, Sweetheart....In actual fact, of course, the letters meant His Majesty's Canadian Service. But it was a handsome young Canadian airman from the East Coast, Ken Rideout, who became her husband in 1944. While raising two children Mary found time to pursue her interests in sewing, writing and gardening. Ken's career as an armed forces officer meant frequent moves, something Mary didn't like: I never have a chance to put down roots. Also she missed B.C. --God's Country to her -- where most of her extended family had remained. So in 1986 Mary left Ken to come home to Vancouver; they later divorced. From 1989 to 2008 Mary lived independently in Maple Ridge where she was an active member of the Retired Servicewomen's Association. Her last home was Bevan Lodge in Abbotsford where she was happy, saying I don't want to have to move again. Cremation has taken place. In accordance with Mary's wishes, there was an informal family gathering at Locarno Beach on August 26th. Mary was predeceased by her son Kenneth Eric Rideout in 1990 and by her siblings Barbara Brooks (1997), Gwenn Hodgkinson (2002), and Ted Hodgkinson (2008). She is survived by her siblings Noreen Johnston of Saanichton, Betty Harman Pullar formerly of North Burnaby, and Geoff Hodgkinson (Joan) of Hope, as well as by her daughter Valerie and son-in-law Gary Ridsdale of Abbotsford, her grandsons Kevin and Danny Ridsdale, and many nieces and nephews and their families. Special thanks go to niece Nancy Hutsul and Nancy's little granddaughter Elizabeth Short for their frequent visits to Mary. Rest in Peace. Donations to the Parkinsons Society of BC would be a good way to honour Mary.