Silver Cross Mother

Mrs. Bonnie Rushowick again gracefully accepted our request to be our Silver Cross Mother.  

Silver Cross Mother Bonnie Rushowick was pinned with the first poppy for 2022 by her husband, Comrade Geoff Rushowick, alongside Branch President Ken Gordon on Tag Day, 29 October 2022.

Bonnie Rushowick was born March 5, 1953, the eldest of four children of Lenore and (William) Les Cooper. She met husband Geoffrey in 1971 at the University of Saskatchewan where Bonnie was working on her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Geoff on his Advanced BA. They were married in 1973 and travelled extensively until settling in Yorkton in 1982 to raise their family consisting of James, Patrick and Tessa. Bonnie worked in public health where she became the Regional Nursing Supervisor and Geoff worked as an itinerant teacher for the deaf, then as resource room teacher to various schools in Yorkton and alternative education before retiring in 2004.

Bonnie loved being involved in the activities her dhildren were in. She taught Sunday School at St. Andrew's United Church, was on the exeutive of the Kalyna Ukrainian Dance Club where all three children danced and was a Scout leader for over 10 years including taking groups of scouts to two Canadian Scout Jamborees and two amalgamations.  Bonnie wasn't afraid to take on new responsibilities. She volunteered as the nurse for many trips that the Marching 100 Band of the Yorkton Regional High School took including trips to the Grey Cup and Disney World. She was a volunteer with the local Red Cross and heeded the call when Canadian Red Cross asked for volunteers to go to New York City following the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

Bonnie obtained her Masters of Arts in Education in 2002. She was the only nurse and school board member amongst many teachers! In 2004, she made the decision to move to opportunities in Regina after 25 years in Public Health. She worked with the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association and then moved to First Nations Inuit Health Branch with the federal government, working in a number of positions before becoming regioinal director of population health programs. During that time, Bonnie received thd Deputy Minister's Award for Management Excellence after being nominated by her colleagues. She retired in 2021. See above where Geoff retired in 2004 and Bonnie started working in Regina that same year. They alway maintained that was the secret to a successful marriage!

Bonnie was on the last day of a national health conference in Ontario when she got the call from her husband that her son Patrick had killed himself. It was heart blow. Patrick was a captain in the armed forces. He had served 10 years in the armed forces, graduating from the Royal Military College, serving in both Haiti and Afghanistan and had married in 2011. It was a time when faith, family and friends were there with support.

In 2014, Bonnie and her oldest son, James, ran the Army Run half marathon in Ottawa in memory of Patrick and other Veterans. It was a rainy warm day and they both felt very good when they finished.

In 2014, Bonnie began to volunteer as a peer support with HOPE support program of the Canadian Armed Forces. Volunteers with HOPE had reached out both to Bonnie and husband Geoff and helped them in their grief journey following Patrick's death. HOPE (Helping our Peers with Empathy) was created by the Armed Forces and parents and spouses who lost a loved one in Afghanistan. They saw the need to help other families like themselves who had lost a member of the forces or reserves, regardless of the reason.

Bonnie became the Silver Cross Mother in Yorkton, attending Remembrance Day services, June 6 D Day parades and services, and receiving the first poppy at the start of the Legion's yearly poppy campaign.

She is proud to stand for all mothers and families to honour Veterans past and present and to remember them.