November 10, 1933 - August 20, 2023
It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Howard Douglas Rutley on August 20, 2023, at the age of 89 years.
Howard was born to John and Fairy Rutley in Newington, Ontario. After completing grade eight, Howard worked in Montreal and then came west on a Harvest Exchange to Saskatchewan and then Alberta. After working in the harvest community, he began a new journey working in the oilfields in Alberta.
In 1958 he met the love of his life and on March 21, 1959, married Ruth Bateman of Innisfail, Alberta. He worked for many companies and then went to work on a mobile feed mill in Crossfield, Alberta which he eventually owned. From there he started in the dairy business where he moved from Crossfield to Didsbury in 1977. He milked jersey cattle and traveled to many shows. This became a family business where all the children were involved.
In 1993 he sold the dairy operation and moved to the Eagle Hill area. Howard and Ruth enjoyed going to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Then they tried out living in Mesa, Arizona and eventually bought a home and spent 19 great years there. Howard and Ruth enjoyed the winter sunshine, and they played many floor shuffleboard games in Arizona and Alberta, winning many trophies. In 2001 Howard and Ruth bought a house in Olds and later moved to Silver Lynx Park. On July 15, 2022, Howard and Ruth moved into Mountain View Lodge.
Howard is predeceased by two brothers George and Jack; two sisters Janet and Helen; his son Mitchell and son in-law Bob. He is survived by his children James (Carolyn), Brenda Wagner, Kirk (Tina), Kim Dunning (Jim); his sister Mary who is the only surviving member at 96 years of age where she resides in Cornwall, Ontario. Howard loved being a grandpa and being involved with his grandchildren: Lucas Wagner, Larissa Dove, Tyler Dunning (Cara-Leigh), Nick (Nicole), Jordan Dunning, Trisha, Logan (Trina). As well as the precious gift of his great granddaughters Ansley and Maise Rutley.
A Celebration of Howard’s life will be on September 14, 2023 at First Baptist Church, Olds at 1:00 p.m. Thank you to all the staff in acute care at the Olds Hospital, especially Dr. Sloan for the compassionate care given to Howard. Thank you to all the staff at the Mountain View Lodge for the kind and loving care you gave to Howard over the past year.
In lieu of flowers a memorial donation can be made directly to Heart & Stroke Foundation heartandstroke.ca, Alberta Diabetes Foundation-canadahelps.org, Olds Healthcare Fundraising Commitee-oldshealthcaredonations.com,or charity of your choice. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed at www.heartlandfuneralservices.com
