Ruby Walton

Ruby Elizabeth (Pattison) Walton September 22, 1935 to July 1, 2024

We have bid farewell to the physical presence of our mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. A woman of taste and distinction who favoured embroidered jeans and sparkly shirts, Ruby was a jewel, brilliant when she smiled, radiant when she spoke of her family’s accomplishments, and hard edged when she stood to defend them or herself against any form of tyranny she identified.

Born in Victoria BC, the eldest female behind her brother Fred, she took on the care and control of her younger siblings; something she often felt Fred could have had the benefit of too. Raised in a military family, she followed their path, joining the Royal Canadian Air Force after a short term with the Dominion Bank of Canada. She served as a Radar Control Operator on the west coast, telling friends and family tales of tracking Russian and American bombers in the Cold War era. She wrote backwards on transparent wall maps so that observing officers could read the information she provided with the deft use of the left hand she fought to keep using despite all social pressure to the contrary.

Ruby Pattison met and married Bill Walton, the love of her life, in 1956. Resigning her post with the Air Force, she continued supporting the military as a military spouse to Bill, an Aircraft Instrument Technician, taking her four children through many military moves, postings, communities and even continents. During their time in Trenton ON, Ruby surprised Bill at the airport after obtaining her driver's license without letting him know of her plan to do so.

They retired to civilian life in the Comox Valley where Ruby and Bill shared their Denman Street home with family and friends. Spending time with Bill and Glenda Leach, their lifelong friends and social companions, they stayed in the Valley until Bill passed in 2013. Ruby followed up on her wish to move back to Victoria in 2015, living most of her remaining years in a Cook Street apartment where she enjoyed visiting, shopping and making new friends.

In 2021 the onset of dementia made a move into care necessary. She found a bright, open room waiting for her at Glen Warren where she, with the ease of a household manager used to many new incarnations, built relationships, carved out areas of authority and joined the Residents Council. When marking her passage staff wrote:

“Ruby will be missed for her fierce protective nature of anyone she saw needing support, and her stubbornness with a smile that endeared all who were lucky enough to call her friend.”

A ‘social butterfly’ with a passion for the chocolate (Rogers) she cached around her room, Ruby was also a cheerleader and a staunch advocate for her children and grandchildren. She upheld her pride flag with the determination of a parent who shared in her children’s struggles and would, with determination and will, remove any detractors from their presence.

Ruby will continue to be with us in so many ways. Survived by her children Laurel (Keith) Walton, Linda (Kevin) Ryan, Gerald (Aaron) Walton Wilson and Greg (Meredith) Walton her grandchildren Wade, Amy, Brenna, Jonah, Liam, Brent, Mitchell, Jeffery, and Zach and 11 great grandchildren, her life and living will continue to ripple through the generations of our world. We love her and miss her deeply and know we are who we are because she was who she was.

A gathering of family and friends will take place this summer, in the Comox Valley.