Nana Ruth was no typical granny. She had all four of her grandchildren reading betting forms at the racetrack by the time they were 3, making up new rules for Scrabble by 6, and, on rainy afternoons, helping her set up the couch as a net in the middle of the cottage in Haliburton, Ont., for an intense, Nana-initiated indoor tennis tournament.
Born Ruth Goldsmith, her childhood wasn't the easiest, growing up in a large family on a farm in Oshawa, Ont. But she made sure her children and grandchildren's childhoods were glorious. With Ruth, fun reigned supreme.
Two years after Doug Clemens, a dashing young Royal Canadian Air Force instructor, laced up her skates, she married him. They created a true partnership - it was always Nana and Papa, Ruth and Doug. They didn't preach or proselytize, but for 62 years were a living example of kindness and generosity - always ready with a moving truck, a paint roller or a box of doughnuts.
Ruth was a determined lady, stubborn even. She overcame a high-school education cut short by the Second World War to become a successful real estate agent in her 40s. Then, in her late 70s, she defied fading knees and creaky arms by inventing a device so she could continue throwing rocks at the Oshawa Golf and Curling Club.
Stylish to the end, with a tube of lipstick forever in her pocket, Ruth dressed in well-cut suits in her signature colour - cream. Even in her 80s, she outshone her fashionista granddaughters with a new Louis Vuitton purse and countless pairs of heels.
Ruth didn't much like talking about the past; she preferred instead to live in the present, but did say once that her father was as much a man of tears as he was of smiles - happy tears, she explained. Turns out it was genetic, and Ruth learned early on to keep a handkerchief tucked into her sleeve. She passed this trick on to her two daughters, Sharon and Susan, who in turn passed it on to their children.
From the initial diagnosis, Ruth dealt with her breast cancer with dignity and poise. She never once complained, and still found the strength to offer her signature seal of approval on a recently purchased pair of boots or a haircut: "That's sharp." After a long and stoic struggle, Ruth died at home on the day of her and Papa's wedding anniversary.
Ruthie to her brothers and sisters, Goldie to a select few, Ruthie the Riveter when she built airplanes at General Motors during the forties, she was an ordinary woman and an extraordinary Nana. And we have all learned to keep a tissue tucked in our sleeves, because you never know when you'll laugh so hard you'll cry.
Lindsay Zier-Vogel is Ruth's granddaughter.