June 24, 2023
In loving memory ~
Ruth Knight (born Breitmaier) of Summerland, B.C., passed on June 24 in Penticton Hospital. She was surrounded by family and friends and died as she lived — on her own terms, free, loving, generous, open, curious, bold, fearless, and with a smile on her face.
Ruth is survived by her sister Esthi, her partner Robert, her close friend Marianne, and dear friends near and far.
Ruth grew up in Switzerland and her love and curiosity for life, people, animals, art, and adventure stayed with her all her life. She started out as a frame maker in her parents' art gallery in Basel and spent her summers with her family in the Swiss Alps. She was as much at home in a mountain hut, milking cows and sleeping in the hay, as in a Bedouin tent in the Moroccan desert as in the fine restaurants and galleries of European capitals. Her free and indomitable spirit quickly led her beyond the safety of a settled life to a life of adventure. She set out driving overland from Basel to Afghanistan in the early seventies and then toured North America in a van. She eventually settled in Summerland on an apple orchard on Jones Flat Road and made it home. Over time, the orchard became what is now known as the "Happy Dog & Horse Farm". Ruth was straightforward, genuine, and open and animals as well as people responded in kind. She took in many a stray and under her care and steady hand even the most hard-to-handle horses and dogs became calm and steady. The same was true for people.
Ruth was a lover and a giver and touched many lives from all walks of life. Those of us who were lucky to cross paths with her and came to call her a friend gained a true friend and teacher for life. She taught by example and lived a full life of love, truth, and happiness.
Ruth was happiest with a pack of dogs around her or on horseback on the trails behind Summerland and on the wide-open grasslands of Lundbom and Merritt.
Thanks for enriching our lives
and happy trails, Rutli.