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Ruth Dorosz was a rebel, but her family says she was a well-mannered one — even though that streak caused her to be expelled from school.
Ruth came by rebellion honestly; she was adopted by Stella Pollexfen, a nurse here who was a trailblazer as the first single woman in Canada to legally adopt a child.
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Ruth, who was 91 when she died March 3, went to school at what is now Balmoral Hall — that is, until she was expelled.
Her family says that happened after she slipped down a drainpipe to meet the guy who became her future husband.
But being bounced from school didn’t stop her.
Ruth charmed her way into Angus Business College, graduating as its youngest student, and worked at CN Rail before moving to TBJ Kruse and Associates. She worked with engineers on the mid-century modern airport that preceded Winnipeg’s current airport.
“She liked to note, not without satisfaction, that she earned more money than a few men at the time, all while wearing heels,” her family said.
After marrying the guy at the bottom of the drainpipe, Bill Girling, the couple honeymooned in New York City, where Ruth contracted polio a year before Winnipeg’s epidemic in 1953.
Ruth was told she would never walk again, but her well-mannered rebellion and polite persistence reared up and she didn’t heed the doctors’ prognosis.
“With baby Patti at home, she taught herself to move and eventually to carry all her children, Jeff, Steve and Chris, up and down the stairs on her hip, a fact which she proudly related,” her family said.
“Determination, it turned out, was her quiet superpower.”
Determination in the family didn’t stop with Ruth. Baby Patti grew up to become the city’s first female letter carrier.
Fast forward a few decades, and Ruth was in Cyprus, living on a military base with her second husband. She navigated both military-base life and meeting explorers.
“A personal invitation from Jacques Cousteau to go diving was proof she could charm anyone, above or below sea level,” her family said.
“Ruth’s Winnipeg grew and changed around her, but she remained timeless, a woman of class, grit and quiet humour. Every evening she poured herself a small glass of sherry, opened a fresh mystery novel, and settled in, still curious, still stylish, still wonderfully herself to the end.”
Read more about Ruth.
How They Lived
Rob Schurko pushed the boundaries of science.
Rob, who was 55 when he died Feb. 20, was born and raised in Winnipeg and received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry at the University of Manitoba.
He went to Dalhousie University for his PhD and then did postdoctoral work in the United States before spending almost 20 years as a chemistry and biochemistry professor at the University of Windsor.
Rob was an award-winning researcher and, after becoming director of the nuclear magnetic resonance and MRI user program at Florida State University’s National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, he was in charge of a team which created tools to help researchers explore the molecular world and look deeper into matter than ever before.
Read more about Rob.
Elsie Thiessen worked on international sporting events — and sold luggage.
Elsie, who died March 4 at the age of 83, worked at Foster Advertising right out of high school.
She helped organize the 1967 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg and was a timekeeper at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.
Elsie and her husband were both lovers of travel, and they bought a small wholesale shop, U.N. Luggage, and expanded it into a local travel institution.
Read more about Elsie.
Larry Kimacovich went from selling hot dogs to homes.
Larry, who was 68 when he died Feb. 14, became the first propane BBQ hotdog vendor in North America when he and his brother launched Kimo’s Bar-B-Que in 1984.
He went on to become an award-winning realtor, selling hundreds of homes.
In between, with his brothers, he helped save the Dauphin Country Fest by donating seed money.
Sadly, Larry was killed on Valentine’s Day when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle in Texas.
Read more about Larry.
Lyn Lessard was always left feeling queasy when she asked her husband how his day at work had been.
Lyn, who died March 7 at the age of 72, was married to Harold, a Winnipeg firefighter, and after hearing about his day would always say, “I’m sorry I asked.”
Her fears came true when Harold became one of two firefighters who died fighting a house fire in 2007.
For the rest of her life, Lyn supported firefighters; she co-founded the Lessard Nichols scholarship fund to help fire and paramedic training graduates.
Read more about Lyn.
Garry Brickman was a lawyer honoured to be appointed as a Queen’s Counsel.
Garry, who was 88 when he died March 8, was a teacher in East Kildonan when he decided to go to law school. He was a Crown attorney for two years before going into private practice.
He had a four-decade career with Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, interrupted when he served as special counsel to then Premier Sterling Lyon.
Garry was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1978.
Read more about Garry.
Dianne Bain was 30 when she received her grandfather’s bagpipes from Scotland.
Dianne, who died March 6 at 73 years of age, worked hard to become a piper.
She was a longtime member of the Pipes and Drums of Manitoba and the Army Navy Air Force Unit No. 283 and No. 60 pipe bands. She played in the official pipe band for the World Curling Championships in Switzerland in 1997.
During Dianne’s 23-year career with the Winnipeg Police Service, she persuaded then-chief Herb Stephen to allow women to play in the Winnipeg police pipe band and became the first woman to join it.
Read more about Dianne.
A Life’s Story
Bernice Giesbrecht’s life was filled with music.
Bernice sang solo at a family wedding when she was only four years old and went on to take lead roles in high-school musicals. She, her sister and a friend were known as the Winnipeg Youth for Christ Trio on local radio. The trio recorded two albums together.
She was part of Calvary Temple’s choir for decades and was a major figure for 50 years in its Faith To Live By television show.
Bernice was a music teacher and taught for 30 years in the Winnipeg School Division. She was one of a few teachers to pilot a new music program where she taught in nine schools weekly.
Giesbrecht died in January at the age of 93. (Supplied)
“She was a tremendous musician as well as an educator,” said Calvary Temple pastor Jim Barber, who took over the role of his father, Calvary Temple Pastor H. H. Barber, after he died.
“She really embodied those two things — unbelievably organized with all the balls that she kept flying in the air. It’s a bit mind-boggling.”
Read more about Bernice’s life.
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life’s story.
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