Ruby in the sky (the day her wish came true)
Beloved 95-year-old takes the controls as she’s flown over city
They literally laid out the red carpet for Ruby Denyer.
Pilot John Maxwell gallantly placed the crimson runner under the parasol wing of his Cessna 172, and “Queen” Ruby strode up to the step stool and boarded.
“There should be music,” joked Gail Jaggard. “Chariots of Fire.”
Soon the plane was taxiing along the runway at the Hamilton airport, Ruby in the front seat with pilot John. Her son Peter and I in back.
“I can’t believe this,” Ruby said excitedly. Her wish — to see her beloved city from the sky — was coming true.
She’s 95. But it was only the third time she’s been on an airplane.
The first was in 1960 when son Peter, then a teenager (he’s 71 now), saved up money from his very first job — “I had a little plan” — and surprised his mom with an air passage, her maiden voyage, to France’s south coast from Southwick, near Brighton, England, where they lived.
“I was thrilled to go,” she said of that flight with Peter. It seemed so different — mussels and red wine in France where in England it would’ve been fish and chips and a pint.
The second flight was to Canada, in 1964, when the family moved to Hamilton.
“I loved Hamilton,” said Ruby. “They told us if we didn’t like it we could move, every company is hiring. But I settled immediately. Everyone was so friendly and helpful.”
She never once returned to England. “I didn’t miss it,” she told me. “Not a bit.”
When the staff at Regina Gardens, namely support worker Ana Maradiaga, asked her what her wish would be, she didn’t hesitate. To take her third flight, over her city. Through Wish of a Lifetime Canada and Chartwell (which manages Regina Gardens for owner LiUNA), her Moments That Matter materialized. So up she went last Wednesday.
It seemed half the staff at Regina came to see her at Golden Horseshoe Aviation, everyone taking pictures. “Do you feel like a star, Ruby?”
You can feel their strong affection for her; easy to understand. Ruby’s face shines with cheer and good humour. She’s on the home’s council; she’s always comforting those who are upset. “She’s always the first to hold someone’s hand,” Ana told me.
“I try to be friendly to everyone,” said Ruby.
“A fabulous mother,” said Peter. “Every day she’d get fresh vegetables and fish … from the fishermen. In the kitchen she’d be working away, always singing.”
And she’s always up for fun. She’s had several firsts since moving to Regina Gardens four years ago. First barbecue ribs. First camping.
“One day at camping we were sitting outside in sunglasses and sun hats,” Gail told me. She’s programs director at Regina Gardens. “I asked, ‘If you could go on a date with any movie star, who? Right away she said, ‘Ben Affleck.’” (He looks like her grandson.)
So Gail made her cellphone ring then pretended he was calling. “You would’ve thought it was scripted. She took the phone and said, ‘Oh, tonight? Yes, I’d love to, Ben. Will you sneak in the back the way you usually do?’”
So there we were, about to lift off. John the pilot helped Ruby take the yolk and said, “Can you help with the liftoff ?” “You’re kidding?” she replied.
He wasn’t. “Pull back gently,” he instructed. And she did, sportingly and well.
Oh, how we flew. Over harbour and highway, downtown, escarpment, picking out landmarks — “There’s Randall’s Reef,” said John — the stadium, factories, Haida, Chedoke Golf Course. At one point we could see Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in a single glance.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” said Ruby. “Everything’s greening up now,” said John. “Are you ready for the big turn? Left now, not too steep. How are you liking it, Ruby?”
“I’m loving it,” she said. Scared? “Not a bit.”
“Let’s see,” said John, “if I can set this down nice and soft for you.” And he did, landing like butter, where everyone was smiling, waiting, to fold Ruby back into their lives.
A beautiful, beautiful day over her beautiful city, for a beautiful lady.