Ralph Bernard Woods
Jan 11, 1924 – Oct 3, 2025
As published in the October 13, 2025 World-Spectator
Ralph Woods was born on the farm west of Moosomin on SE 34-13-32 W1. He was one of five children of Charlie and Nellie (Gedge) Woods, a brother to George who died in infancy, Kathleen (Tash) and Angus John McDougall, John (Cathy), Winnie (Geoff Udal), and Andrew (Eileen). Ralph always appreciated his close bond with the extended family.
As a youth in the ‘30s, Ralph learned the realities of hard work and the value of community and of perseverance. He often commented that people were quite socially equal through the depression in that there was little to no cash and everyone stayed busy staying alive. Ralph was a childhood victim of polio, although he never let that deter or define him.
Ralph attended Coppice Hill School. He admittedly wasn’t much of an academic but loved school and had the greatest respect for his teachers. He was a self-appointed guardian of the younger children and any neighbours in need. Ralph always relished neighborly camaraderie and felt blessed to have had such good lifelong friends close by. He made friends with nearly everyone, keeping those friends his entire life.
After his school was done Ralph worked with his parents and for neighbour Blake Pearce and others. They worked horses and his interest in animals, particularly good Thoroughbreds and Clydesdales, stayed with him until the end, made evident by his disappointment recently when finding he could not get the Cowboy Channel in Long Term Care.
As a young man Ralph was devastated to learn he would not pass the physical required to enlist in the army. He was also told he need not apply to the RCMP due to his physical impairment, a great loss for him, the army and the RCMP.
Ralph met nurse Marilyn Bowerin one day while out with Roy Brown, when he spotted her taking lab samples from the hospital to put on the train. They were married in Moose Jaw, in April of 1954 and had three children, Beth (Ron) Lundsten and their sons Bryan (Wenona), Greg (Jen), Garth (Lorna) and their girls Candice (Mark), Melissa, Rebecca (Mike) and Brandy (Chris) and Marie (Jake) Wiebe and their boys Chris and Mike (McKenzie). Those grandchildren have 10 wonderful great grandkids “the little ones” for Grandpa to pray over.
Following marriage, Ralph and Marilyn rented the Bell farm then the Field farm until they purchased the Outhwaite farm in 1961, later purchasing the Smith farm in 1967. In the early years of his marriage Ralph contracted himself and his truck to the Department of Highways picking stones and working on snow fences. In 1961, he began working for Sid Dauncey at the new auction mart, a position he took great interest in. A few years later Ralph purchased a truck and began hauling livestock locally.
Ralph and Marilyn took the opportunity to move to Moosomin in 1979 when they felt it was not feasible to build a new home on the farm at their age. In 1981, Garth and Lorna started taking over the farm, and Ralph continued to provide a helping hand until he was offered a job with Carscadden Funeral Service in Moosomin. During this whole time Ralph dedicated time volunteering to local causes: the Nursing Home Board, the Doctor Jamieson Foundation, Meals on Wheels, and MOTOH.
After Marilyn retired they travelled, enjoying England and numerous bus trips through Canada and the U.S. Ralph came to enjoy singing, especially with his friends in the Bea’s Boys group.
When yard maintenance became a burden, Ralph and Marilyn moved to Knotty Pine then Pipestone Villas. Ralph was very appreciative of the people and community services he and Marilyn utilized later in life, many he had spent years volunteering with. Ralph spent only a few months in Moosomin long-term care where he remained interested in the lives of those who were caring for him as well as his numerous visitors from near and far. Ralph was predeceased by his wife, Marilyn and his youngest daughter Marie and he passed away peacefully with his family present on Friday October 3, 2025.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the Moosomin Dial-a-van (MOTOH), a service organization that was near and dear to Dad. Donations can be sent to PO Box 1801, Moosomin SK, S0G 3N0.
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