1924 (Approximate) - March 11, 2008
A. James (Jim) Ruse was a Typhoon pilot with 439 Squadron during WWII. He was also a Spitfire pilot with 416 Squadron.
Jim was the son of Cecil and Christina Ruse. He had one sister, Betty. He was married to Mary and was the father of Cathie and Allan. He and Mary had two grandchidren: Jennifer and Scott. He was a long time member of the Mayfair Racquet Club and Springs Lakes Golf Club. Jim was 84 when he passed away at Sunnybrook Veterans' Hospital.
A proud member of the Canadian Aircrew Association and the Typhoon Pilots Association, he is found in the photo above, from 1992, taken by Larry Milberry.
After the war, he went to the University of Toronto and became a science teacher in the North York Board of Education, retiring in 1985. One of his former students at Donview Heights Junior School in Toronto in the 1980s, Bill Longo, contacted me to ask me to include Mr. Ruse. "I remember he told us he was a pilot but did not like to talk about his experiences." Thank you, Bill, for the photos and information!