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The family of Lee Jusef Ruelling uploaded a photo
Thursday, October 19, 2023
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The family of Lee Jusef Ruelling uploaded a photo
Thursday, October 19, 2023
/tribute-images/26189/Ultra/Lee-Ruelling.jpg
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Noel & Janine posted a condolence
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Our deepest condolences Hazel & family, on the passing of Lee. May he rest in peace.
Ron and Noreen Pringle and family posted a condolence
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Our thoughts are with all the Ruelling family at this time. Ron and Lee worked together at the dam when we lived there. We have many good memories of conversations and stories around the kitchen table having tea at Lee and Hazel's in Hudson's Hope. Cheryl, Lynne and Keith were just youngsters back then. They were like like a second family to us. Love and hugs to all.
Dennis & Irene Kroeker posted a condolence
Monday, October 9, 2023
our condolence to Hazel and familyA candle was lit
Elmer North. posted a condolence
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Condolences to Hazel and Family . so sorry for your loss.RIP Lee.
Lenny Gayle posted a condolence
Sunday, October 8, 2023
I send my deepest sympathy in this time of sorrow. The Bible promises that your loved one will live again on a beautiful paradise earth when death will be no more. (John 5:28, 29; Revelation 21:4)
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Bruce posted a condolence
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Loving roses was purchased for the family of Lee Jusef Ruelling by Bruce . Send FlowersIm sorry I couldnt be there , all good memories .rest wellBruce
Shirley Salmond posted a condolence
Friday, October 6, 2023
Iam so sad to hear of Lee's passing I have fond memories of him he was a gentle kind soul our daughter Tina and her hubby Andrew Moore lived next to them as neighbors and he always let my Grandsons eat his crab apples of his trees and let them play in the tree house Hazel was so kind to our Daughter and was always there when needed God has gained another Beautiful soul Rest in Peace dear friend Hugs to Hazel and families
Steve McLain posted a condolence
Friday, October 6, 2023
My name is Steve McLain and I am Lees son-in-law.Lee passed away this week the same way he lived, with quiet grace, strength, and dignity. Lee was an amazing man. My family and I loved him dearly and feel his loss deeply. I could write pages on my admiration, gratitude, and respect for him.Lee was first and always a family man. He worked his whole life to support them and was a kind, gentle, devoted, and utterly faithful husband, father, brother, cousin, and grandfather.Lee was a very quiet and modest man and was usually comfortable to let the others around the table do most of the talking. Over the years, and always from others, I learned what an epic individual he actually was. His life reads like an adventure movie in many ways and the more I learned of him, the more he surprised me. As a young man he commercial fished Turtle Lake with his family for whitefish destined for fine eateries in New York City; and they even had their boat sink once. Fortunately, they were rescued by local Indigenous fishermen and he spoke of them with gratitude. He logged the big trees on Vancouver Island with hand buck saws and carried dynamite across log jams in a backpack; once getting spun right around by a branch but not losing his balance. Whether it was the time as a young man when he took the train across Canada while doing odd jobs like picking fruit, to being the first recreational parachutist in the first parachute club in the country, to when he and his brothers filled every seniors care home freezer in Northern Saskatchewan with moose meat in the late 50s, or to hooking up the horse team in winter as a small child to take his siblings to school, I have to admit to realizing my mouth was sometimes a little ajar while listening to others talk about this exceptional human being. As well as being a master carpenter, Lee was a consummate outdoorsman, superb rifleman, and was equally at home walking, quadding, sledding, or riverboating in the wilderness. When I hunted with him, I could see he put on the forest like a comfortable old coat and just plain belonged there. Over his life Lee harvested 12 elk, 100 or so moose, plus around 50 deer. These 50 years of hunting were all non-guided, often solo hunts, and most were on crown land. In his late 60s he walked up a mountain in the Kootenays by himself and came down with a mountain goat in his pack. This is a hunting record that I have never seen equaled, and he often used these skills to feed seniors or families needing a little extra food. Lee could catch fish through the ice when no one else was, and Lynne has very good memories of ice fishing at the dam as a child. Everything that my sons and I know about ice fishing, and our love for this strange sport, was learned from Lee.And boat? This man could read a river like no-one else I ever saw! Lee was one of the original River Rats and started riverboating when people built their own out of plywood. I think he ran every river north of Prince George at one time or another and usually further and shallower than the other boaters did. I remember another local river-boater telling me how he followed Lee back to camp once on the Muskwa River in the dark. Brian said that all he could see was a little bit of white wake at the back of Lees boat and that he guided them back without hitting a single rock. He said it gave him the shivers and he never figured out how Lee did it. Lee became a resource for the local community for all things boating over the years. BC Hydro used his skills for tasks like repainting the depth markers inside the Bennet dam. This means that Lee was one of very few individuals to pilot a boat up the diversion tunnels almost to the turbines inside the dam itself; and was usually also the one called for boat work around the penstocks. Lee also helped local search and rescue and the RCMP over the years and was often the first requested to help in emergencies and where a clear, calm, and expert head was needed. On one sad occasion Lee and the RCMP recovered a drowning victim from Dinosaur Lake. Lee demanded that the body be treated with respect and dignity and brought into the boat as respectfully as possible. This incident hurt Lees gentle heart and remained with him for the rest of his life, often coming back to him in dreams while he slept. Lee was quietly generous with his time, belongings, and skills. Whether taking holidays to build someones garage, teaching his grandsons how to shoot, boat, and fish, showing me many, many of his favourite hunting and fishing spots, or just generally investing his time in his friends and family, Lee was always exactly where he should be, doing exactly what needed to be done. Lees handshake would make your knuckles pop, his heart was huge, his word was unbreakable, and when he told you something you could bank on it being true. He came from a generation and background that was never emotionally demonstrative. And although Lee might never have been comfortable telling people he loved them, or wearing his heart on his sleeve, he showed them every day. I could see it in his smile and when his eyes lit up when he spoke to Lynne and his grandsons and I always knew that their love for him was returned unreservedly and completely. I treasured and am immensely grateful for my time with Lee and will remember and miss him every day. I hated writing this tribute because my words are not even slightly up to the task of describing this man, my respect for him, and what he meant to me and my family. Some people just leave a hole when they leave us behind.
Helen and Stan posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Hazel and Family so sorry for your loss, heartfelt condolences to you and family.Love and prayers.A candle was lit
Pat posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Condolences Hazel to you and your family! Much love and many hugs, the Dool Kids
Paige Sebastiano posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Will always cherish my memories with Lee. He was such a sweet man and brought so much happiness to my day whenever hed come in for coffee. Thinking of you Hazel so much My deepest condolences. Love you
Sheila Peltier posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Sorry for your loss Hazel and familyA candle was lit
Harold & Valorie posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Hazel and family, we're so sorry for your loss. Hugs and prayersA candle was lit
Kingston Kimberly posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Hazel and family I am sorry for loss. He will be remembered
Elva Taylor posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Dear Hazel and family, sending heartfelt condolences to you all with love and prayers.A candle was lit
DeeDee & Roger McConnell posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
So sorry for your loss. Sending our deepest condolences.
Fred and Shelley Micholuk posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Lee was one of the nicest individuals we have had the pleasure to meet. We always hoped we would run into him at Tim Hortons. It made our day when we got to say hello again. A good man - he will be so missed. Our condolences to Hazel and Family for your loss.
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Sherry Reid (aka Malsbury) posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
A Memorial tree was ordered in memory of Lee Jusef Ruelling by Sherry Reid (aka Malsbury). Plant a TreeI saw the Ruellings practically every day of my life when in high school in Hudsons Hooe. Lynne and I were inseparable so Hazel, Lee, Cheryl and Keith got to see a lot of me. Im heartbroken for your loss. Lee was such a quiet calm kind man. Im happy to have known him. My hearts with you all. Wed be there to celebrate his life if we were not so far away. .Sherry Reid (aka Malsbury)
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Sandy, Cassandra, Maci, Ed and Bev posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
A Memorial tree was ordered in memory of Lee Jusef Ruelling by Sandy, Cassandra, Maci, Ed and Bev. Plant a TreeOur deepest sympathy at this time Hazel and Family, may you take comfort in knowing that Lee is at peace.Sandy, Cassandra, Maci, Ed and Bev
Brenda Baumeister posted a condolence
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Our deepest condolences to you, Hazel and the rest of the family.RIP Lee. Love the DANCY crew.
