Robert Trevor & Ruth Evelyn Ferguson

April 30, 2023
In loving memory of
Robert Trevor and Ruth Evelyn Ferguson died on Sunday, April 30, 2023 in Victoria BC. They are survived by Jane, Michael, Sarah, Doreen and Peter.
Bob, 98 and Ruth, 97, were married nearly 76 years. They knew each other for 83 years. They lived for 13 years at Amica Somerset House. They enjoyed their view of the sea in Victoria much as they had enjoyed their waterfront home they built on Thetis Island for 40 years. Prior, they spent 34 years in Youbou raising their family after meeting in Saskatoon as teenagers when their families were acquainted through the Anglican Church.
Bob was born in Nanaimo BC on March 24, 1925. Ruth was born December 30, 1927 in Humbolt, Saskatchewan. She attended boarding school at Kings Hall Compton in Montreal graduating in 1945. It was there that the long love story between Bob and Ruth began.
Bob was a pilot in the Second World War, worked in the office at the Youbou Mill and for the BC provincial government. Ruth was a teacher at Yount Elementary and Stanley Gordon Middle School. She graduated from the University of Victoria with her B.Ed. in 1972 and at the age of 46 learned to drive.
Bob was an early adopter of technology. He was an avid HAM radio operator and both he and Ruth got laptops and cell phones before many of their younger family members did. He loved opera, his carbide cannon, and his John Deere mower. Bob was a charming gentleman and a gracious host for celebrations with friends and family. He would regularly take Ruthie on restaurant dates in Victoria.
Ruth led some Canadian Girl Guides to the 1959 Girl Scout Senior Roundup in Colorado. She was a great knitter and reader. She was skilled at remembering names, had excellent penmanship and was the family historian with her exceptional memory. Like her father, Archdeacon Ted Maddocks, she loved learning. She corresponded via cards, letters, emails and phone calls with her Guiding friend Ann Salter for 64 years. Ruth's bridesmaid Doreen attended their 70th wedding anniversary.
Bob and Ruth were active community members in the firehall and church. Ruth was a Girl Guide leader and long term Trefoil Guild member. She was recently honoured as one of the last alumni from her school. During retirement on Thetis, Bob was a bicycle postman and table tennis champion and Ruth was a tutor and editor of the Trumpeter Newsletter.
The Fergusons were travelers; camping with their young family around BC, cruising down the Amazon, Tunisia, England, Thailand, Hawaii, Portugal, Denmark and train trips across Canada. Bob visited his mother's family on St. Helena Is.
Their 75th wedding anniversary in 2022 was recognized by Queen Elizabeth ll, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier John Horgan and The Honourable Janet Austin, OBC Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
Thank you to Reverend D. Fuller and Dr. Woodley for their exceptional care of the Fergusons.
Memorial service is at 10:30 a.m. at St. Michael & All Angels Anglican Church in Chemainus and internment at St. Margaret's Cemetery, Thetis Is. at 15:30 p.m. on May 18, 2023.