Marion Ruggles 1926-2007

On Thursday February 22, 2007 my Grandma passed away. Her last few years were very hard on her and she was ready to go home and start her eternal life in Heaven. One of my earliest memories of Grandma was during the summer Barrett and I stayed in Taber for a week to go to day bible camp. During this visit, Grandma taught us a prayer said to invite Jesus into our hearts. We said the prayer together and she taught us the importance of loving the Lord. This is a message that she repeated often, it was her mission to ensure that everyone she loved, loved the Lord so that they would one day enjoy eternal happiness in Heaven with her. This same prayer was included in her eulogy at the funeral which just goes to show how important the prayer was to her. One of the cards of sympathy that my Grandpa received spoke of my Grandma; "She carried herself like a Queen, but lived like a servant." This was so true of my Grandma. She was the most giving, gracious, humble woman I have known. The funeral was nice. We went to the funeral home in Taber to view and pray for Grandma. This was probably the most difficult part of the funeral. To see my Grandpa standing over the body of his partner and best friend for 58 years weeping was heart breaking. I spent quite some time standing in front of her as well with my dad as we talked about our memories of her. When the prayers were over, I almost didn't want to leave because it would be the last time I would ever see her on this earth. I know that it was silly considering that it was only her body and not her up there but at that point it just all seemed so final. The next morning we met at the cemetery for the burial. A young pastor spoke about Grandma and had some wonderful things to say about her. From there we went to the church for lunch, visiting with family and then the actual funeral service. My Dad, Uncle Les and Grandpa all said a few words about Grandma. Grandpa told the story of how him and Grandma met, and their missionary days in Peru and Venezuela. Much of the message was the same, Grandma was the Lords servant and she loved Him. It had been so long since I had heard Grandpa speak in church and hearing him made me remember that he has a gift. He loved her so much and so much of his last 10 years were consumed by taking care of Grandma. As poor as Grandma's quality of life was, Grandpa also had a rough time the past few years caring for her. We will all miss Grandma, but we can celebrate her life and know that she is in a happier place awaiting the time we will join her. Love You Grandma!