Ruth Goldbloom
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Ruth Goldbloom | |
|---|---|
 Ruth Goldbloom in Sydney, Nova Scotia, February 1990 | |
| Born | December 5, 1923 |
| Died | August 29, 2012 (aged 88) |
| Occupation | Philanthropist/Administrator |
| Known for | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 |
| Spouse | Dr. Richard Goldbloom |
| Children | Dr. Alan Goldbloom, Dr. David Goldbloom, Ms. Barbara Goldbloom Hughes |
| Parent(s) | Abraham and Rose Schwartz (née Claener)[1] |
Ruth Miriam Goldbloom OC ONS (née Schwartz, December 5, 1923 – August 29, 2012) was a Canadian philanthropist who co-founded the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was born and raised in New Waterford, Nova Scotia, to immigrant parents. Their immigrant experience influenced her throughout her life and was a major factor in her helping to found Pier 21. She became the first Jew to Chair Mount Saint Vincent University's board, which was a Catholic women's university at the time. She was the chancellor of the Technical University of Nova Scotia in the 1990s and fundraising chair for the Halifax area United Way. She was inducted into the Order of Canada for her work with charities in the 1980s and 1990s.
Goldbloom was born and raised as Ruth Miriam Schwartz, in New Waterford, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.[1][2] Her grandparents and parents immigrated to Canada from the Pale of Settlement, Russian Empire, with their immigrant experience influencing her throughout her life.[3] She attended both Mount Allison University and McGill University.[3] She met Richard Goldbloom at McGill, and married him in 1946.[4] They moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Montreal in 1967 with their family.[5]
Community work
When Goldbloom moved to Halifax in 1967 with her husband and family, she began to get involved in the community. She was a fundraising chair for the Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital, where her husband was the Physician-in-Chief.[6] She became a fundraiser for Mount Saint Vincent University, at the time a women-only Catholic institution. In the 1980s, she became the first Jew to chair the University's board. In 1989, she became the first chairwoman of the Halifax United Way's annual fundraising drive. She served as the Chancellor for the Technical University of Nova Scotia before it merged with Dalhousie University. She became a fundraiser for the Cape Breton Regional Hospital in 2009.[7] She and her husband were also involved with the Arts community, and they helped support Symphony Nova Scotia and its precursor the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra.[6]
Pier 21
Goldbloom was the second chair of the Pier 21 Society,[8] which eventually established the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.[2] She spearheaded the fundraising efforts to raise $16 million to build a new museum at the pier, which opened in 1999.[3] Pier 21 operated as an ocean liner terminal and immigration entry point from 1928 to 1971. In 2009, the year that the museum was designated a national museum, with Goldbloom present as the Prime Minister announced the museum's new status; Goldbloom noted that she always wanted it "to become the second museum outside of Ottawa to be a national museum of immigration."[3][9]