Page 14 - James Kenneth Scruton

JAMES KENNETH “KEN” SCRUTON

Eulogy

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Kenneth was born in Montreal on 24 March, 1920. His parents were James and
Olive (nee Howell), and his brothers were Mansell and Doug. They moved to North
Toronto on Glen Grove Street in the early 1930’s.

Ken met his first wife, Ruth Elizabeth Helliwell, in high school in North Toronto and
they dated continuously until their marriage on New Year’s Day, 1944. Together,
they had a loving, happy marriage, raising their three children, Ken, Karen and Doug,
in a new subdivision on McKee Avenue in Willowdale, until Ruth’s tragic death at a
young age in 1968.

Ken was the loving father of Ken (Gail), Karen (Pierre) and Doug (Patty) and the
proud grandfather of Janice, Sara, Teresa and Kyle and the doting great-grandfather
(“Big Papa”) of Anthony and Danielle. Ken and Ruth always enjoyed their times
together and shared many fond memories of visiting the cottage on William’s Point,
Lake Scugog, with Ruth’s sister and brother-in-law, Dorothy and Ron Sorley. Ken
was fondly remembered by his second wife, Mabel’s family.

He was a World War II Veteran, attaining the rank of Flying Officer as a Navigator
with 576 Squadron, a No.1 Group Main Force operational Lancaster squadron within
Bomber Command, based at RAF Fiskerton, Lincolnshire, England. He and his
Lancaster bomber crew flew 32 missions in Germany and completed his tour of duty
with this group by doing three food-drop missions in Holland. These last three
missions, he felt, were his “best missions”, as they helped the Dutch people, and he
would prefer dropping food rather than bombs! He kept in touch with his squadron
mates throughout the years and there is a photo of Ken with the Lancaster bomber
crew he flew with, in the reception room.

Ken had a lengthy career in the Federal Government’s excise tax department and,
during his retirement, he worked as a tax consultant for a number of companies in
Ontario. During his career and in his retirement, he was an avid stamp and coin
collector. He cultivated his interest in music, as well, learning to play the piano
through lessons with his brother-in-law, Ron Sorley Senior. Ken developed close
friendships with his neighbours in Willowdale, attending the many social gatherings
that occurred during his time residing in Willowdale.

Well known as a gentleman and social butterfly, Ken was always ready to lend a
helping hand or brighten one’s day with his sense of humour. He would often create
his own humorous lyrics to melodies and witticisms, much to the amusement of
attentive audiences. He loved playing the piano and entertained many friends with
music from the 30’s and 40’s and an example of this can be heard on a cassette
which he made for his brother, Doug and sister-in-law, Dorothy. As for athletic
pursuits, Ken belonged to and played in his office hockey league for a number of
years, enjoyed vigorous walks and was an avid golfer.