It is with the deepest sadness and extremely heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dear mother, sister, grandmother and great grandmother at the age of 97. Frances Ruth (Marshall) Kerr was born in Bing Manitoba on March 09th, 1925, daughter to Mabel and John Marshall. She is predeceased by: - her loving husband, Cecil (Chesty), Sept 12th, 1986 - her granddaughter, Deborah Lynn Mulligan, Feb 25th, 2009 - her son-in-law, Roy Mulligan, Oct 14th, 2020 - most recently her eldest daughter, Linda Valerie Mulligan, Apr 18th, 2022 And eleven siblings. She has one surviving sibling, Yvonne Graham from Ontario. Mom met Dad when they were teenagers and started dating in 1945. They were married on January 25th, 1947. They took up farming in the Willowdale district where they started a family of five girls. In 1948, Linda Valerie (partner Brent Spicer) was born. Followed by Marilyn Diane (Terry) Hancock born in 1952. Next came Wendy Anita (Gary) Wolitski who was born in 1955. When they found out they were expecting again dad was sure it was a boy that would be joining the family. “This will be my Joseph” he said. Little Jo was born in 1958. However, “Little Jo was a girl! Cindy Jean (Greg) Lekness who is still known to us all as JoJo. They completed their family of girls in 1962 when Trena Cecile (Lionel) Badinski was born. Mom was blessed with 8 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, one great grandson with another poised to join the family very soon in May. Mom spent her early years in Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan before the family settled in the Melfort area. She worked at the Experimental Farm for a while but soon became a fulltime mother and farmwife. In later years she cooked at the Coffee Cabin and Parkland Care Home where she retired from in 1986. I think we have to say family defined our mom. She was an encyclopedia of information as she never forgot anything! Until the day she left us, whenever we needed historical facts of the family or fellow community friends, it was an automatic “Phone Mom!” That was an all to common phrase for us all. Mom loved to sew, garden, knit, cook and sing very colorful songs (LOL)! The best fresh buns and sticky buns ever! She loved to spend time with her family playing card games, crib and cracking jokes to keep everyone in stitches. Her mind and wit were as sharp as ever right up until her last day. One of moms most favorite things was to fish and camp at Edwards and Eagle Lake surrounded by many friends and family. Fish fry’s were her specialty. Her recipe for her fish batter will live on forever. In June of 2021 mom required more assistance for everyday care and therefore had to leave her home of 16 years with her daughter Marilyn and move into a care home. She resided at Chateau Providence in St. Brieux where she soon established the name of “Gramma” by many of the staff members. They will all have warm hands from her mittens she knit them! We would like to thank them all for lovingly caring for our Mama while she was there. Their visits in her room and hugs were special to her and she truly appreciated them! To know her was to love her and she will always live on in so many people’s memories. She will be truly missed by so many. Love you Mama! Up to the moon, And back again Around the world, A million times And after that, we lost count That’s how much we love our mama! A Poem for Chesty It’s many long years since you left me I still think of you everyday Life has been lonely without you Since you were taken away Our family has been a big support for me They help me to face everyday And left me with beautiful memories And nothing will take them away Someday when I make it up yonder I’ll be happy to see you again I’ll reach out my hand and you’ll take it And we’ll be together again. Ruth Memorial contributions in memory of Ruth may be directed to the Sask. Heart & Stroke Foundation / Canadian Cancer Society / Canadian Diabetes Association / MAID Program / Chateau Providence Care Home.