Williamson, Eva Moody “Billie” (1917-2018)

  • See Oral History files in Fonds 18, series 3, subseries 8
  • See Pages of History, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 9, File 2

Eva  “Billie” Williamson valued education as a lifelong pursuit.  She graduated from VGH in 1940, receiving the Alison Cumming medal in medical nursing.  She followed this with a Certificate in Public Health Nursing in1942 and a BASc(N) in 1947 from UBC.  Further education included a Master’s in Arts from Columbia University Teachers’ College in 1951 and a Master’s in Public Health Administration from UCLA (Berkeley).

She has held several positions as a Staff Nurse, Supervisor, and Associate Director/ Director of Public Health with the Vancouver Health Department.  This was followed by a rewarding time teaching Public Health Nursing for WHO in Sri Lanka from 1954 to 1956.  In her work she emphasized “health promotion through education and preventative measures to effect ‘high-level wellness’ in the people and communities served”.  On the City of Vancouver’s 100th birthday in 1986 she was honored with a Distinguished Pioneer award from the city. Billie wrote a book about her experiences titled Billie girl: a story of life in progress,  published in 2007.

Contents of Biographical File

  1. Biographical Information Profile and signed release form.
  2. Biography from “1940’s Amazing Alumni Stories” on Internet
  3. “Pages of History” biographical information
  4. Letter to Kristine Griffiths from Glennis Zilm, October 29, 2001.
  5. Three photographs, 1984 and 1990 (2)
  6. Obituary