Paul Rutledge

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paul Rutledge.

Paul was born on Dec 15, 1947 - he was very proud of his Gravenhurst roots.

He always loved to say 'Born and raised in West Gravenhurst, just off Musquash Rd.'  He was the youngest of five children born to William (Les) Rutledge and Viola (Vi) Rutledge (Schell) and brother to Marvin, Wayne, Keith & Carol.

His memories of growing up were good, often telling us about his fishing and hunting adventures.  He loved living in the big house on James St, and how dad Les, an Engineer for CN, had a special horn blow when he was coming through town so the kids knew it was him.

A huge lifelong memory was his mom, Vi's cooking.  She was a wonderful cook and baker, you would rarely go into the Rutledge house without being offered a cup of tea and one of Vi's buttertarts or delicious squares or cake of some sort.  She would never give you her recipe as it was always 'a little of this, a little of that'.  Dinner was truly a treat.

There was also the time when mom decided the kids needed more refined education so put them all into piano lessons.  Paul was miserable and it did not go over well for the boys or for the piano teacher.  Sports were the big thing in the Rutledge family and Paul excelled at both hockey and baseball.  Playing for local and Junior A Teams as he got older.

Paul held several jobs as he grew up in Gravenhurst including working at Sloans, delivering milk for Breyers Dairy to the local lodges with his brother Wayne and working in the pharmacy of the Rexall.  The start of his full time Paramedic life began at Muskoka Ambulance when he was in his late teens.

After gaining experience there, he moved to Woodbridge and joined the York South Ambulance for several years and finally he moved to the Peel York Ambulance Service in Brampton where he stayed through the remainder of his career.

During his younger days, he was a member of the Oddfellows and belonged to the Rotary.  For many years while in Bramalea, he kept connected to hockey and was manager of the Bramalea Blues Junior B hockey club.

Paul was married to the love of his life, Tanna for 43 years before she pre-deceased him in 2019.  They lived in Bramalea during their working careers and moved to Bracebridge after retiring in 2001.  They moved a few times, to Orangeville, then Burlington before settling back at Pineridge in Gravenhurst in 2015.  We take comfort in knowing they are together again sharing their afternoon cocktail hour.

Paul was a wonderful step-dad to Cathy Koth (Tony) and Bernie Cowan (Natalie) and proud Papa to his beloved grandchildren Erin (Kerry), Jamie, Zachary & Ellie.  He also loved all his nieces and nephews and family members who he stayed connected to. He was a huge part of our lives and we will all miss him terribly.  Christmas dinners will never be the same as he always made the mashed potatoes, gravy and desserts consisting of squares and buttertarts - there was never a recipe to pass on, just a little of this, a little of that.

A Memorial service will be held on Monday, August 22 at 11:00 AM at St. Paul's Catholic Church, Gravenhurst with reception to follow in the church hall.

Memorial contributions to OSPCA - Muskoka  greatly appreciated.