Obituary for Johanna Ruth Neumann
Neumann, Johanna Ruth passed away peacefully on Saturday October 1, 2022, at Bay Haven in her 91st year. Ruth was born in Germany to parents Hans and Gretel Rasner.
She will be remembered as the proud and loving mother of Carsta, Eva, Frank, and Eric, and cherished grandmother of Christopher, Jonathan, Natasha, Adrian, Cassandra, Maia, Sydney, and Jonah, great grandmother of Damian, Liam, Olivia, Nicholas and Sloan and great great grandmother of Levi and Myles. She will be deeply missed by her sister Heidi. She is predeceased by her husband Manfred, grandchildren Morgan, Jessica, Frankie, great grandson Elijah, and sisters Ellen and Ute.
She did an apprenticeship in Horticulture at Gut Stern Holtz in Hamm, which is where she met her husband Manfred, they married and together immigrated to Canada in 1958. Two of her children were born in Germany and two in Canada.
They started earning money working on a chicken farm in Bowmanville and soon after moved to Owen Sound where they were able to put their horticultural education to work, managing Springmount Nurseries for two years.
Their love of gardening then sent them to Collingwood where they were able to purchase Seven Acres Nursery, now known as Green Tree Emporium. As well as growing and selling trees, flowers, plants, fresh produce was also sold all summer long. Her knowledge of plants was vast, she was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge for her customers.
She as well did a lot of landscaping around the Collingwood area, one of her first large jobs was the supplying and laying of sod at LOF now known as Pilkington.
In winter Ruth worked in the ski shop at Osler Bluff and was well known for her ski repair, sharpening and waxing skills.
Ruth would travel back and forth to Germany many times over the years, staying in touch with her family.
She was in love with Georgian Bay and so purchased a sailboat and then became a member of the Collingwood Yacht Club. She was the first female member of the Power Squadron.
Ruth was an amazing sailor even sailing solo with a cast on her leg. She was an amazing swimmer and would swim from the Collingwood harbour to our Nottawasaga Island Lighthouse and back.
In later years Ruth headed to warmer climates finding our winters far too cold. It aggravated her osteoporosis caused by polio which she contracted in Germany at the age of 16. She spent winters in Mexico and went on to manage properties in the Bahamas as well as in Florida. She loved seafood, her favourites being crabs and raw oysters.
Ruth was an adventurist and travelled around in a motorhome during her late seventies and eighties. She believed in doing whatever she liked, and no one could stop her. She was a force to be reckoned with.
When she was home in Collingwood, she enjoyed helping her grandchildren, making food for them, driving them around and telling stories of her adventurous life.
She enjoyed meeting her Kaffeeklatsch German girlfriends every Wednesday, mostly at Café Neujahr on First St.
The last 8 years of her exciting life Ruth would spend many hours at the Collingwood harbour looking fondly out over the bay, every day, reminiscing about her sailing years. It was her happy place.
Ruth spent her last year at Bay Haven Nursing Home where she received wonderful care from the amazing staff and volunteers, especially during covid, the family is forever grateful.
As per her wishes cremation has taken place and a family gathering at the bay will be announced.
As an expression of sympathy donations in Ruth’s memory may be made to the Cancer Society.
Ruth will be missed.
She will be remembered as the proud and loving mother of Carsta, Eva, Frank, and Eric, and cherished grandmother of Christopher, Jonathan, Natasha, Adrian, Cassandra, Maia, Sydney, and Jonah, great grandmother of Damian, Liam, Olivia, Nicholas and Sloan and great great grandmother of Levi and Myles. She will be deeply missed by her sister Heidi. She is predeceased by her husband Manfred, grandchildren Morgan, Jessica, Frankie, great grandson Elijah, and sisters Ellen and Ute.
She did an apprenticeship in Horticulture at Gut Stern Holtz in Hamm, which is where she met her husband Manfred, they married and together immigrated to Canada in 1958. Two of her children were born in Germany and two in Canada.
They started earning money working on a chicken farm in Bowmanville and soon after moved to Owen Sound where they were able to put their horticultural education to work, managing Springmount Nurseries for two years.
Their love of gardening then sent them to Collingwood where they were able to purchase Seven Acres Nursery, now known as Green Tree Emporium. As well as growing and selling trees, flowers, plants, fresh produce was also sold all summer long. Her knowledge of plants was vast, she was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge for her customers.
She as well did a lot of landscaping around the Collingwood area, one of her first large jobs was the supplying and laying of sod at LOF now known as Pilkington.
In winter Ruth worked in the ski shop at Osler Bluff and was well known for her ski repair, sharpening and waxing skills.
Ruth would travel back and forth to Germany many times over the years, staying in touch with her family.
She was in love with Georgian Bay and so purchased a sailboat and then became a member of the Collingwood Yacht Club. She was the first female member of the Power Squadron.
Ruth was an amazing sailor even sailing solo with a cast on her leg. She was an amazing swimmer and would swim from the Collingwood harbour to our Nottawasaga Island Lighthouse and back.
In later years Ruth headed to warmer climates finding our winters far too cold. It aggravated her osteoporosis caused by polio which she contracted in Germany at the age of 16. She spent winters in Mexico and went on to manage properties in the Bahamas as well as in Florida. She loved seafood, her favourites being crabs and raw oysters.
Ruth was an adventurist and travelled around in a motorhome during her late seventies and eighties. She believed in doing whatever she liked, and no one could stop her. She was a force to be reckoned with.
When she was home in Collingwood, she enjoyed helping her grandchildren, making food for them, driving them around and telling stories of her adventurous life.
She enjoyed meeting her Kaffeeklatsch German girlfriends every Wednesday, mostly at Café Neujahr on First St.
The last 8 years of her exciting life Ruth would spend many hours at the Collingwood harbour looking fondly out over the bay, every day, reminiscing about her sailing years. It was her happy place.
Ruth spent her last year at Bay Haven Nursing Home where she received wonderful care from the amazing staff and volunteers, especially during covid, the family is forever grateful.
As per her wishes cremation has taken place and a family gathering at the bay will be announced.
As an expression of sympathy donations in Ruth’s memory may be made to the Cancer Society.
Ruth will be missed.