MITCHELL, Ruth Anne Homeyer Passed away suddenly on Monday July 6, 2009, at the Civic Hospital in Ottawa. Her unexpected passing after an energetic and unusual life has saddened members of her family and her extended family of friends. She will be greatly missed. Ruth Anne grew up in Connecticut. While still in high school, she began her lifelong interest in the developing world with an exchange visit to Indonesia. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1965. And, like many of the 60s generation, she subsequently traveled to Europe where she met (and in 1969 married) Robert Mitchell. With Robert she started her long love affair with Africa, living in Cameroon, Swaziland and eventually Namibia. Her beloved daughter, Sarah Aminatu, was born in 1973. After returning to North America and spending several happy years in New Hampshire, Ruth Anne moved to Canada where she undertook projects with the credit unions, a range of non-profit organizations and began her consultancies in Africa and Asia. Over the years Ruth Anne worked as a consultant for CIDA, UN agencies and various NGOs. Her circle of friends continued to enlarge with each new venture so many were drawn to her expansive knowledge, her rapier wit and her fabulous, booming laugh. Always looking to satisfy a desire for knowledge and new experiences, Ruth Anne was a voracious reader, an imaginative and creative gardener, a sailor and an extensive traveler. Later in her life she decided to walk the Chemin de Santiago de Compostela - as she turned 65 she hiked through a blizzard in the Pyrenees. Ruth Anne is survived by Sarah and her partner Ron Koomas, her much-loved brother Henry Homeyer and her mother Frieda Homeyer. A Quaker memorial meeting, followed by a reception, will be held on August 12, 2009, at 7 p.m., at the Friends Meeting House, 91A Fourth Avenue, Ottawa. For those wishing to make a donation, Oxfam Canada has started a fund 'In Memory of Ruth Anne Homeyer Mitchell' to support civil society organizations in Namibia. Visit oxfam.ca and click and choose this fund from the drop-down menu provided in the 'donate now' section.