Mary Elizabeth Bebenek

1922 - 1957  (35 years)

• Name	Mary Elizabeth Bebenek
  Born	1922	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Female
  FindAGrave	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/205365661
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-489596
  Died	28 Mar 1957	Ottawa, Carleton Co., Ontario, Canada
  Buried	Cimetière Bellevue, Gatineau, Outaouais Region, Quebec, Canada
  Person ID	I489596	Generations
  Last Modified	19 Dec 2024

  
  

  Father	Peter Bebenek,   b. 18 Apr 1885, , Galicia, Poland ,   d. 22 Jun 1937, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 52 years)
  Mother	Anna Trochimcum,   b. 1886, , Galicia, Poland ,   d. 21 Apr 1973, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 87 years)
  Family ID	F300429	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  No Inquest Will Be Held In Jehovah Witness Death OTTAWA (CP) - Crown Attorney Raoul Mercier says no inquest will be held in the death of Mrs. Allan Routliffe, 36, who died here Thursday after refusing to receive a blood transfusion during the birth of a stillborn child. Mrs. Routliffe, a member of the Witnesses of Jehovah religious sect from nearby Aylmer, Que., refused the blood transfusion on the claim it would be against her religious beliefs. Her physician D. E. M. Young, said she and her child might have lived had she accepted the transfusion. Mr. Mercier said yesterday "the authorities did all they could under the, circumstances" and that an inquest would serve no useful purpose. "Such cases are beyond legal jurisdiction," he said. (Mrs. Routliffe's mother, Mrs. Anna Bebenek, lives on Broadview avenue, Kitchener.) Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Tue, Apr 2, 1957 Page 3 ______________ Refused Blood For Religion, Woman Dies OTTAWA (CP) did everything we could to persuade her to take a blood transfusion. It didn't do any good. She just said no." Allan Routliffe's voice broke as he spoke of his wife, Mary Elizabeth, a member of the Witnesses of Jehovah, sect, who accepted death in childbirth rather than go against her deep religious beliefs and submit to a blood transfusion. Mrs. Routliffe, a trim brunette of 36 who lived at nearby Aylmer, Que., died Thursday in an Ottawa hospital. Her child was stillborn. Her physician, Dr. E. M. Young, said Saturday in an interview he believed both mother and child might be alive if the woman, a native of Kitchener, had accepted the transfusion. The husband, 37, left with two daughters under 10, is a Presbyterian, His wife had been a Baptist until she joined the Witnesses of Jehovah four years ago. MENTIONS FAMILY "She should thought of us, especially the children," Mr. Routliffe, an office employee of the Ottawa Transportation Commission, said in a halting voice during a weekend interview. His mother said that her daughter-in-law had a blood transfusion four years ago at the birth of her daughter, Dalphine - but that was before she changed religions, The other daughter, Sandra, is 7. Mr. Routliffe and his daughters are staying at the home of his mother, Mrs. A. O. Routliffe, a few blocks from their trim little bungalow which he now thinks he may have to sell. He was certain about one thing: "I am a Presbyterian. My two girls will be of that religion." Dr. Young said both he and the husband had pleaded with Mrs. Routliffe at the hospital bed to accept the blood. PREVENTED HER "But she told me her religious beliefs prevented her from accepting the blood of another person. "He (the husband) was pretty broken up. But there was no doubt of her religious devotion. I attended her all through her pregnancy. She certainly was devoted, ready to accept personal sacrifice." Crown attorney Raoul Mercier said he will decide today whether an inquest will be required. At the weekend he had received only a verbal report of the case. This matter of religion, he said, was beyond beyond his legal authority. He questioned whether even an inquest would be necessary. The Sun Times, Mon, Apr 01, 1957 Page 8

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1922 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 28 Mar 1957 - Ottawa, Carleton Co., Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth