Ruth Reimer
Obituary
Ruth was delivered into the arms of Jesus, her Saviour and Lord whom she adored, on September 26, 2026, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She leaves behind to mourn her loss, her father and mother, David and Trish Reimer; her sister and brother-in-law, Sarah and Graham Millar, and her beloved niece and nephew, Caitlin and Sean Millar; and her grandmother, Helena Reimer. She is also survived by her very special aunt and travelling companion, Virginia Gilbert, as well as her other aunts and uncles, John and Dina Gilbert, Priscilla Reimer, Karen and Wilfried Kopp, Hanna and Cornelius Brandt, Marge Reimer-Toews, Danny and Shirley Reimer; her cousins, Erika and Geoffrey Gilbert, Mary Jane (Brian) Downie, Anita (Jeff) Reichel, Leslie (Nathan) Arkell, Oliver (Natasha) Kopp, Grema (Samuel) Brandt, Leah (Guy) Bouchard, Justina (Dave) Unger, Abigail (Laranzo) Whyte, Jeannine (John) Buckley, Erin (Nav) Sangha, Steffan (Katherine) Reimer, Alain (Emily) Reimer, Cole (Arianne) Reimer, Katrina (Riley) Sobering, and all of their children; as well as many, many friends and colleagues.
She was predeceased by her grandfather and grandmother, William and Sarah Gilbert, her grandfather, Dave J. Reimer, her uncle, Roger Toews, and her cousin, Samuel Brandt.
Ruth was a fairly quiet child (hard to believe!) until after the family moved to Winnipeg in 1996. She always loved to be in plays and choirs, but the family failed to recognize any real musical talent. E.g., she really struggled with piano lessons. Then, just before her family moved to Winnipeg, she started flute lessons. And it was then that the butterfly burst out of its cocoon, and Ruth gradually blossomed into the person that we all love and remember today: loud, bombastic and an Energizer Bunny. She graduated from The University of Manitoba with a B. Mus. and a B. Ed. in 2008. She became an elementary music teacher in Austin and MacGregor, Manitoba, before moving to teach in the Selkirk School Division. After that she substite-taught in various schools in Winnipeg, until finally landing a permanent teaching contract in the Winnipeg School Division, at Wellington School. There she developed a performing arts program which included music, drama and dance. Her students loved her, and just a couple of weeks ago she received from them a huge box filled with cards, pictures and well-wishes. Many expressed desires for her to return and teach them again. At Wellington she produced two musicals every Christmas and two every other spring, sewing many of the costumes herself. As well, she had her students compete in the Winnipeg Music Festival. She had a special relationship with kids on the spectrum, because she herself was diagnosed with autism when she was 28. She “got them.”
Ruth loved baking, sewing, and all things craft-related. Each year she sewed her Halloween costume, and with every year the costumes became more elaborate. One of the last ones she sewed was a “transformation dress” from Cinderella, the poor stepdaughter, to Cinderella, the princess. Ruth loved to teach herself new things. She tried to get her hands on all types of musical instruments, and taught herself to play them all.
She also enjoyed being part of Storytellers Entertainment in Steinbach. Her last performance, as the witch in Hansel and Gretel, was one of her best.
But Ruth’s greatest passion was for anything that involved her in the life of her church here at Southland. This church was her life outside of her teaching career. And she loved camp! She couldn’t wait to go to Bird River Bible Camp each summer. The last two summers, she was unable to go because of her declining health. But even when she was going through breast cancer in 2017-2018, she took time for camp between chemotherapy treatments. Bird River was definitely one of her happy places. Her other happy place was Miners’ Bay Lodge, near Minden, Ontario, where she went every August with her Aunt Virginia, Uncle John and Aunt Dina.
At Southland Church she served in a variety of areas, such as kids church, including Kids Church Online during Covid, middle youth, and as a small cell leader right until her death. She loved her Jesus and wanted only to serve Him. Her greatest desire was to see people come to know Him, and to understand that even when life wasn’t a magic bed of roses, God would always be there, even in the hard times when we couldn’t understand why seemingly bad things happened. Her steadfast faith and trust were an encouragement to many, and even though we wonder why God needed her more than we do, we know that she finished her race well and that Jesus has greeted her with: “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”
The celebration of life will be held Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., at Southland Church, Steinbach. There will be viewing from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Ruth requested that those who attend wear red, her favourite colour.
