Ruth Reiley – Mom was born on August 8, 1930 in the Hafford Hospital; the third daughter born to Tom and Nellie Golden of the Keatley area.  By 1938 their family was complete with four daughters.  Mom attended Langley school to Grade 9 then went to work as a housekeeper at the Eventide Home in Battleford.  When Mom was 19, she went to Toronto to enrol in the Salvation Army’s Officer training program.  Once complete she worked at the Salvation Army Children’s Home in Calgary caring for small children and then on to Ottawa to take her nurses training.  Mom and Dad were married in 1960 and farmed in the Lilac area.  From this union three children Neil, Marlene and Brian completed their family.  Mom was involved in her community and was a great neighbor and friend to many. Mom and Dad liked to travel, visit with neighbors, relatives and friends and attend dances.  She was a member of the Lilac Ladies Guild, Richard UCW, a member of the Speers Pioneer United Church and sat on many church committees.  She took a keen interest in her children’s lives by driving them to numerous sports practices, games and 4-H events.  Mom was also a 4-H leader, a camp counsellor/nurse at Starview camp a CGIT leader and participated in several productions of the Speers Supper Theatre.

Mom loved her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  She attended as many functions as possible and enjoyed every minute.  She loved getting pictures, hearing stories about what they were doing and especially hugs and kisses from each one of them when they were leaving.  Mom’s fridge was a collage of photos of the great grandchildren and she proudly showed them off to her friends naming each one, where they lived and who their parents were.  She was able to meet and hold her new great granddaughter just days before she passed away.

In the fall of 2005, Mom underwent heart bypass surgery and unfortunately suffered a stroke.  In order to be closer to medical help, she moved into North Battleford in early 2006.  Mom adapted to “city” life quite well forming long lasting and special friendships.  Unfortunately, Dad passed away in January of 2010 leaving a large void in Mom’s life.   In 2013 Mom moved into Caleb where she enjoyed visiting and making lasting friendships, participating in activities and especially enjoyed any type of entertainment.  Mom joined the Red Hat ladies and looked forward to outings with them. Over the last couple of years Mom’s health started to deteriorate leading to several hospital visits over the last few months. One thing Mom looked forward to every year was supper in the field and a combine ride with Brian.  In keeping with tradition, after her passing we had supper in the field and Mom’s ashes sat on the seat beside Brian – for one last ride.

Mom is survived by her daughter Marlene and son Brian (Lisa); her grandchildren Stacey (Charles), Candice (Kirk), Deanna (Kendall), Alisha (Gregg), Sarah (Daniel), Janelle (Riley), Scott (Taylor) and Taylor and great grandchildren Syl, Isabel, Archer, Mila, Reiley, Vera, Ava, Hudson, Mackenzie, August, Madilyn, Tanner, Janayah, Braelyn, Rhys, Bodi and special friend Ruth Kachmarski.  She was predeceased by her husband Arthur (2010), her son Neil (2004) and her great granddaughter Ryah (2025) as well as her parents Tom and Nellie Golden her sisters Lillian, Eleanor and Grace, in-laws Pearl and Sadie Reiley and numerous friends and relatives.

A celebration of Mom’s life will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 15^th at the Speers Recreation Centre in Speers, SK.  The family would like to thank Mom’s Caleb friends that helped her keep her independence as long as possible and Dr. Campbell and the Palliative Care staff at BUH for their compassionate care and support.

Condolences for the family can be made at www.eternalmemoriesfuneral.ca Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Eternal Memories Funeral Service and Crematorium – Alyssa Kozinski Apprentice Funeral Director

• Date : 2025-11-03
• Location : North Battleford, SK