Hystad
Ruth Magdelena
March 11, 1921 – January 13, 2016
Our beloved mother and grandmother, the matriarch of our family, passed peacefully from this Earth into the arms of those she loved.
Ruth was born in Drayton Valley to Swedish immigrants. Her childhood was spent on a homestead, collecting eggs, picking berries, and rambling in the woods.
Mom met her future husband, Perry Hystad, a Norwegian immigrant, at a baseball game. They fell in love, and enjoyed the ups and downs of married life for 57 years. Mom was a camp cook in remote logging camps, until Dad got his own sawmill up and running – Hystad Brothers. After living in Grande Prairie and Jasper, the family ended up in Valemount B.C., with Dad running the mills, and Mom taking care of everything else as women do!
Mom raised and loved five children – Harold (Ada), Peter, Lawrence (Gloria), Kenn (Donna), and Joyce (Yossi). We enjoyed a childhood of dirt and freedom, forts and fishing, bonfires and snowforts – being whistled home for a good home cooked supper every day.
In 1964 Dad retired and Mom and Dad began a new life in Vernon, where they enjoyed the Okanagan lakes and the summer sunshine. Dad passed in 1994, and Mom carried on living in the Hystad family home with her son Peter, until she needed more care and moved to Creekside. Sadly, Peter passed away in 2014. Mom stayed strong for the rest of us through this loss.
Mom and Dad loved in their lives many grandchildren and great grandchildren and Mom was there for them all. She weathered the storms of “teenagerhood”, and was the Grandma who sailed off to pick up wayward teenagers in the middle of the night if need be! We feel blessed that we were able to have her in all our lives for as long as we did. She truly was our anchor.
We will always remember her wise words of advice:
“Stand tall. Walk proud. Let it go. Go after your dreams. Look to the future. Accept love.”
Rest in Peace our dear and loved Mom, Grandma, and GG
Celebration of her life to be held in the Spring