A woman of duty and honour

If you walk through the halls of our communities in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day you can feel something hanging in the air. It is as if the building’s heart is beating with a sense of pride and dedication. Poppies are worn proudly by almost every resident you meet.

If you are luckily enough, you get to sit and chat with someone, it could be a team member or a resident, who has stories to share of a very remarkable life. Ruth Kells is one of those people.

She began her military carer with The Royal Canadian Air Force in January 1944 completing basic training in Ottawa, followed by a six-month course in Montreal as a wireless operator. Working sometimes as a stenographer and others as an operator, Ruth was stationed at posts all across Canada from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. In 1950, Ruth decided to resign and return home to Nova Scotia.

However, Ruth felt a calling during the Korean conflict and decided to return to her military roots as a wireless operator and also joined the RCAF Reserve in Ottawa spending weekends at RCAF Station in Foymount, Ontario. It was there that she was approached to become the Civilian Personnel Officer for the Station and eventually assumed the role of Directorate of Special Radio Activities.

Ottawa didn’t just bring Ruth into the RCAF Reserves, it also brought her in contact with a man named Wesley Kells, a Lt. Colonel in the Canadian Army who designed and developed signal equipment. Wesley would visit Ruth at Foymount and they married in 1957 and had a son.

In 1989, after her first entry into the military 45 years previous, Ruth decided to retire. However, she remains a very active member of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Royal Canadian Air Force Association. Ruth was nominated to represent all the Canadian Legions across Canada in Dieppe, France for the 75^th Dieppe anniversary, laying wreaths at cenotaphs.

Thank you Ruth for your long standing service and dedication.