Walter Howard Carruthers (1908–1992) was born on 19 April 1908 in Kelowna to Edward Maurice "Ted" Carruthers (1873–1959) and Olive Rumney (1880–1975). Ted Carruthers was born in Inverness, Scotland where his father, Walter, was editor of the Inverness Courier, after which the Kelowna Courier is named. In 1889, age 16, Ted immigrated to Vancouver. He soon moved to the interior and eventually Kelowna, where he was involved in a number of businesses. In 1904 he married Nora Higgin and had a son, William. Nora died a year later. He remarried to Olive Rumney and had another five children: Nora, Howard, Brenda, Colin, and Joyce.

In 1928 Howard began his career as an accountant with Consolidated Mining and Smelting. His work took him across much of Western Canada and the Territories. In 1955 he settled in Calgary. Carruthers was also the president of Medical Services Insurance and vice-president of the Alberta Motor Association. He was a founding shareholder in Pinnacle Petroleums, Ulster Petroleums, and Summit Resources. The Carrutherses retired to Kelowna in 1970.

In 1939 Carruthers married Ola Luella Dale (1907–1992), whom he met in Goldfields, Saskatchewan. They had three children: Edward, John, and Wendy. Carruthers died on 26 October 1992 at age 84. Ola died 26 days later on 21 November.