Remembering Ruth Elizabeth Shilling

When I was tasked with covering the fantastic community event that is the Westgate Christmas lights switch on in December of last year, I had the privilege of meeting a woman correctly dubbed ‘Westgate’s local Hero’. Ruth Elizabeth Shilling had been nominated as Westgate’s Local Hero of 2018, her prize was to come in the form of taking centre stage and turning on the Christmas lights at the event. A role she was shocked and humbled to be given, but excited all the same, “I’ll be turning on the lights as the queen mate” she joked as she invited me to her house, made me a cup of coffee and offered me all the biscuits I could possibly eat. We spoke for half an hour or so about her award and about the upcoming event of the Christmas lights switch on, her humour and her community spirit shone.

Ruth moved to Westgate 53 years ago with husband Ernie, and their two young children Stephan and Susan, later on she adopted two grandchildren Emma and Marie. Westgate was well and truly Ruth’s home, a place she loved and had been actively part of in the community, she was a member of many clubs as well as being involved with raising funds to improve children’s activities within the town. It was Ruth and her friends constantly organising  disco’s, quizzes and table top sales that helped raise the finances necessary to build the Community Centre and improve the recreation ground on Lymington Road.

Ruth’s lifelong ambition was to look after children, she went to the Margate Adult Education Centre and gained the necessary qualifications needed to open her own nursery. The Billabong Playschool in the Scout Hut on St. Crispin’s Road was run by Ruth for fifteen years. When speaking to her, she recalls fondly, how half the children in Westgate came to her nursery and how she was always being recognised by the children she cared for, now grown-up with children of their own. Nothing made her happier than seeing them doing alright.

At the beginning of 2018 Ruth was diagnosed with cancer, we didn’t speak of the cancer itself as Ruth only wanted to talk about the love and support she had from granddaughter Emma and her Fiancee James and all her amazing friends, as well as singing the praises of the “superb care” she’d received from Birchington Ward, Viking Day Unit at QEQM and Cathedral Day Unit at Kent & Canterbury Hospital. That was just the kind of woman she was, she passed away last night (Monday 4th February)  much to the sadness of the whole of Westgate. Ruth said to me during our chat ‘you couldn’t wish for a better place than Westgate” and quite frankly Westgate couldn’t have wished for a better local hero. Ruth Shilling rest in peace.

CommunityAd would like to thank her for all the good she did for the community of Westgate and send our kind thoughts to her family and many friends.