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Celebration of life for Ruth Masters set for Sunday

A celebration of life for the legendary Ruth Masters will take place Sunday, Dec. 10, at the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay.
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Ruth Masters celebrates at her 90th birthday party at the Filberg Centre. Photo by Erin Haluschak

A celebration of life for the legendary Ruth Masters will take place Sunday, Dec. 10, at the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay.

Doors will open at 12:30 p.m., when light snacks and refreshments will be served. The event will include speakers, video, music and performance, starting shortly after 1 p.m.

Masters was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. She was part of the group that built and maintained trails in the local mountains. She was a renowned champion for the environment, long before environmentalism became an established movement.

Masters was a key part of successful campaigns to protect Strathcona Park, Clayquot Sound, Seal Bay Park, MacDonald Woods, and more.

A spirited and determined advocate, Masters was famous for her distinctive protest signs, her pointed letters to the editor, and her harmonica playing at blockades and protests.

One of her lasting legacies is the Ruth Masters Greenway, 18 acres of land she donated to the Comox Valley Regional District to create a permanent greenway and wildlife corridor.

Masters served in the Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, and saw first hand the devastation of war while in England.

She was an avid historian, and her compilations of local history draw tremendous traffic at the Courtenay and Cumberland museums.

Masters died at age 97 on Nov. 7.

To see images and find out more about Masters, visit the Facebook page Remembering Ruthie.