Ruth Joyce Chisholm (nee Taylor), 82, passed away contentedly October 31, 2012 in Halifax. For the past three years, since the death of her husband, Cmdr. Jack Chisholm RCN, she had been enjoying life at The Berkley Residence in Halifax, living near her sons, John Wesley and Robert, her daughter-in-law Leanne Chisholm and her grandchildren, Emily and Jack Chisholm.

She died from ailments of aging brought on by lung cancer.

She was born an only child in Stellarton, Pictou County to Bernice and Wesley Taylor, where her father was a coal miner, and stayed very close to her family home and roots throughout her life even as she raised her own family in the village of Waverley. She loved the simple life in Nova Scotia.

Though she had early achievements in business, she was most proud of her husband, her children and her family. Like her mother before her, she loved people and their stories above all things. Her interest in others and friendly germ made her happy and content throughout her life whenever she was with people. This made her a truly great maker of friends wherever she went.

She said her good-byes in her own time. On a blustery evening in October; as Hurricane Sandy unsettled the Atlantic Coast, with Leanne and John Wesley by her bedside, she smiled broadly at her youngest son Robert and acknowledged her time had come. The last rose of summer.

She liked to say she was lucky in life, but felt strongly that her race was run; her Silent Generation and her time had passed. Her ashes will be interred in the family plot in Pictou County with her parents and husband. Always close to her family home.

The last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?