Obituary of Ruth Alison Ghent
Ruth Alison Ghent
June 23, 1925 – March 27, 2020
Ruth Alison Ghent (née Armstrong) passed peacefully on March 27, 2020 at the Kingston General Hospital. Born in Ottawa ON to loving parents Dr. William Allan Armstrong and Jennie Berry.
Alison studied biology and chemistry at Queens University in Kingston and completed a master’s degree in biology at Vassar College in New York. It was at Queen’s where Alison Armstrong met William Robert Ghent who was studying medicine. They were married in 1951 in Ottawa and then moved to Liverpool, UK where Dr. Ghent completed his training as a surgeon. The couple returned several years later to Canada where Bill worked in North Battleford SK before they finally settled in Kingston in 1954, where Bill was the head of surgery at Hôtel Dieu Hospital.
Alison’s life was one of service to her community. She served on the boards of the city’s community arenas, the education committee and was the Campaign Chairman for both the United Way and the Salvation Army of Kingston. Alison was President of the Volunteer’s Association, the Medical Wives Society, and the Women’s Auxiliary for Hôtel Dieu Hospital. Alison was a recipient of “Citizen of the Year Award” granted by the city of Kingston in 1975.
As a medical researcher, she was employed by laboratories at Queen’s University, in Liverpool post-WWII and the Sloan Kettering Institute in New York. Alison worked alongside her husband for many years at Dr. Ghent’s clinic for the treatment of breast cancer. In business, she was member of the Board of Directors for National Trust and Victoria & Grey Trust.
In a handwritten note left by Alison shortly before her passing, she writes, “I would not have survived so long and so well without the love and support of my children, Richard & Margot Withey, Jane Withey, John Leavitt, and my many close friends”.
Alison was pre-deceased by her husband Dr. W. R. Ghent in 1993, her second husband John Edward Hood in 2001, and son Robert in 1978. She is survived by daughter Marianne Ghent, sons Bill and Michael, and stepchildren David Hood and Barbara Roscoe.
Due to circumstances, no funeral is currently planned. A memorial service and celebration of life will be held in the summer. To commemorate Alison, please consider donating to the United Way of Kingston.
