Remembering Ruth Dover

Christ Church, Community, Parish News

It is with great sadness that we share the news that our lovely church friend, Ruth Dover, passed peacefully away in Bolton Hospital on the afternoon of Thursday 12 March, with her daughters Rachel and Angie by her side.

Ruth celebrated her 98th birthday last summer and very much enjoyed lively chats with everyone, regaling friends with stories from the past, making everyone smile by the forthright delivery of her opinions … especially on modern hymns!! As the sad news of her death was shared, one church friend commented that he hoped St. Peter had his clip board ready for hymn suggestions… !

We will miss this wonderful lady’s presence with us  … in church, at coffee mornings, concerts and many other social events such as Probus lunches, etc. which she was attending so very recently. We will miss her profound knowledge and wisdom … and especially her company.

Ruth’s funeral will take place at Christ Church Walmsley on Wednesday 1 April at 2pm …and afterwards at Dunscar Golf Club. ALL ARE WELCOME 🙏 💖

May Ruth rest in peace and rise in glory.

If you would like to leave a tribute or give a donation in memory of Ruth, here is the link to the website page for ‘Ruth Dover much-loved’. Thank you.

Ruth was incredibly proud of her family and always spoke with great love for them all. Her granddaughter, Hannah, has shared some memories:

Ruth grew up in Bolton and has attended Walmsley church nearly all of her life. She was married to Tom for 56 years until his death in 2005. They have 2 daughters, 5 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, the youngest of which arrived just a few weeks ago. Though she always loved coming home at the end of a holiday, Ruth spent many weeks travelling to visit her family across the UK and beyond. A recent highlight at the age of 96 was attending her grandson’s wedding in Italy, but there were also regular trips to London, Kirkby Lonsdale and Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

Her family have shared some photos of Ruth at family occasions over the last few years:

          

And featured below are some photographs of this dear lady over recent years: in church, at church events and with church friends. If you have any pictures to add, together with any SPECIAL memories of Ruth that you are happy to share here, please contact Dawn Hitchen: dawn@walmsleyparish.org  Thank you.

Ruth at home …  And at Christ Church Walmsley by the Paschal Candle, donated by her family…

 

Meeting clergy… Bishop Matthew Porter … Team Rector Revd Ian Hepburn. And dignitaries: at the opening of the Year 6 block at Walmsley CE School, the then Education Officer, Ian Tomkin, recognised Ruth as his former Maths teacher !!

     

Celebrating: with a cuppa & cake …or a meal and a glass of red wine …

        

Never mind the weather ….  Celebrating: with family and friends…

    

    

Enjoying church events…

  

MEMORIES OF RUTH

  • What an inspirational and funny lady

  • There will be none other quite like Ruth

  • Such a force of nature!

Derek Bailey recounts that Ruth remembered – as a young girl in the early 1930’s – seeing Colonel Slater* with his long, waxed moustache, twirling the ends of it! Quite a picture for a small girl to hold in her memory! Ruth, as a young woman, also accompanied Revd Nightingale in 1950/51 to London to visit the Architect for the Resurrection Chapel Altar & Canopy, which also incorporates the Spanish Triptych Altarpiece. Revd Nightingale had obviously appreciated Ruth’s opinions and artistic sensibilities as well as her clear mind on practical matters.
Dawn Hitchen shares the memory of Ruth’s first encounter with the Bishop of Bolton, The Rt Revd Dr. Matthew Porter, when there was a welcoming service in June 2023 at Bolton Parish Church. Ruth has a long association with Bolton Parish Church and loved to go at any opportunity, so Dawn asked Ruth to join her that evening. At the end of the service, Dawn invited the ‘newest’ Bishop of Bolton to come and meet the ‘oldest’ parishioner of Walmsley Parish. After greeting him, Ruth asked who had chosen the hymns for the event, to which Bishop Matthew replied, “I did.”  …”Well they were awful!” came Ruth’s response. Ruth was never afraid to give her honest thoughts. The Book of Common Prayer was especially dear to Ruth, and Dawn always picked her up for the monthly 8am service, when Ruth never once used the prepared booklet for the service, always preferring to use the original Common Prayer Book. When Rev’d Hannah Lane moved to Bolton Parish Church, Ruth and Dawn also attended some of Rev’d Hannah’s 8am BCP services !! Dawn has loved having Ruth as a friend over the last ten years or so and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to spend time with her.
John Evans tells of an occasion when Ruth shared publicly that she had been in the shower with him!! This was, however, completely innocent. They were away on the Parish Weekend and Ruth’s shower wasn’t working … so she sought help from John – in a nearby room – only to announce later to everyone that they’d been in the shower together !!! Ruth often discussed with John her shared love of the Book of Common Prayer.
Ruth taught maths for many years at Canon Slade School. In her own words: she was ‘a very good teacher’. Indeed, it has been said that, at the beginning of a lesson with a new class, Mrs. Dover would ask, “Who likes mathematics?’ …to which very few hands were raised. When asked the same question at the end of a lesson, ALL hands were up!! After the news was shared in church , parishioner Joyce Smith phoned her sister (Mavis), who was so sad to hear about Ruth who had been Mavis’ maths teacher when she attended Canon Slade from 1958 – 1965 . Mavis states: “She was a wonderful teacher! I was terrible at maths, I just couldn’t understand the concept.  Mrs Dover’s teaching solved this completely and I credit her with helping my obtaining my ‘O’ level in maths.”  Mrs Ruth Dover obviously meant a great deal to her students and certainly made an impact!
*The Slaters of Dunscar Bleachworks, who lived at ‘Holmeses’ on Longworth Lane, Sharples/Dunscar Bridge, were the major benefactors of Christ Church before and after the new chapel was built. Colonel Slater was the one who had the foundations of the old chapel excavated in 1895, to find that it had been founded in the late Saxon period, with later Norman & Mediaeval alterations and layers, before the final incarnation as a Four-square Georgian Chapel, itself remodelled before demolition in 1839 and after.