Hazel graduated from nursing at Vancouver General Hospital in 1939. She worked at Vernon Hospital and G.R. Baker. She says I was “just a good bedside nurse [who] loved what I was doing”.
Maude Anderson received her Diploma in Nursing from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal in 1944 and a Bachelor of Nursing from McGill in 1947. From 1947-1953 she taught at the Vancouver General School of Nursing. From 1953 to 1959 she worked with the World Health Organization to modernize health delivery systems and establish schools of nursing in Dacca, Pakistan and Mauritius. She obtained her Masters of Nursing degree from the University of Seattle and from 1961-1966 was Director of Nursing at Nanaimo General Hospital.
She was Director of Nursing at Maple Ridge Hospital from 1973-1980 and active on numerous RNABC committees. In 1989 she was awarded the RNABC Award of Excellence in Nursing Administration for her work as an administrator, consultant, educator, lecturer and conference leader.
Monica Angus practiced as a clinical psychologist from 1981, particularly in forensic psychology. Prior to this she received her RN from St. Paul’s Hospital, M.A.s in Education and psychology, and a Ph.d. from Simon Fraser University in 1978. While she initially worked in pediatrics, she found that after she had children nursing was incompatible with a family life.
Her many activities have included being on the Department of Labour Board of Inquiry, and consultancies including Riverview Mental Hospital, Worker’s Compensation Board, Canada EAP Services Ltd., Corporate Health Consultants. Manulife, and the RCMP. Her committee service has included being both Vice-President and President of RNABC. She has numerous publications and has received a number of awards, including two Alice E. Wilson awards from the Canadian Federation of University Women.
Carolyn Attridge received degrees in nursing, pediatrics, and a Ph.d. in Curriculum and Instruction. She taught nursing at Ryerson Polytechnic, one of three offering the first educational program without any direct link to the traditional practice field of hospital nursing. She joined the School of Nursing program at the University of Victoria in 1981, offering programs that allowed nurses to complete their B.A.s in their own communities. Later on, she became Director of the School of Nursing
Her research included pioneering studies of the quality of nursing working life, and as the principal investigator on the evaluation team that examined the Comox Valley Nursing Center. She was a past president of WRCAUSN and received an Award of Distinction from the RNABC in 1999. She was known for her novel ideas and as a tireless educational innovator.
Patricia Barff was born in Shanghai and was sent to Victoria BC for her schooling. She graduated from the Vancouver General HospitalSchool of Nursing in1931. On graduation she worked first as a pediatric head nurse and then as a night supervisor until 1959. Subsequently she worked for a few years at Cedarhurst, a small private hospital in Surrey BC, although her activity was limited by herRheumatoid Arthritis.
Alice Baumgart graduated from the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1957 and from University of British Columbia School of Nursing in 1958 and later received a Masters degree from McGill and a Ph.d. from The University of Toronto. She was Dean of Nursing at Queens University from 1977 to 1988 and 1994 to 1997. From 1988 to 1993 she served as Vice-Principal (Human Services), the first woman appointed Vice-Principal in the history of Queens. After retirement she became professor emeritus at Queens.
Baumgart is an internationally known nursing leader who has been a frequent keynote speaker at many conferences. She has published widely on nursing, including the co-editing of Canadian Nursing Faces the Future.She was known as an able and fair administrator with exemplary leadership skills. She received an honorary doctorate from UBC in 1999.
See Oral History files, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8Olga Belecky was born in Hosmer, BC, near Fernie, the daughter of an immigrant couple from Russia. She was initially trained as a teacher, but soon decided to enter nursing. After receiving her training at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, she became a nursing instructor at St. Eugene’s Hospital in Cranbrook. In 1943 she entered the Poor Claires in Victoria and became Sister Claire, known throughout her life for her deep compassion for the troubled, and dedication to her faith.
See Oral History files, Fonds 18, Series 3,Subseries 8Frances Benedict graduated from UBC in 1923 with a B.A. She taught at various schools in BC, also pursuing graduate studies. When her mother died, she studied at St. Paul’s Hospital, achieving the highest marks in the provincial nursing examinations. She stayed on at St. Paul’s as a teacher, later becoming Educational Director.
After nine years she left for nursing positions in Montreal and later Manitoba before returning to British Columbia, where she joined the teaching staff at the Royal Columbian School of Nursing. Here she became Educational Director until her retirement. Students and others remember her for her kindness and understanding.
CD includes two large files on Angela containing scanned material prepared by her husband Ken Berg. These include one file primarily of her high school years. The other is mainly of her St. Paul’s years, including numerous photographs from her St. Paul’s nursing class, poems, photographs of her wedding (1958) and various pamphlets, including Nina Rumen’s “Vancouver’s Monuments to Nursing Sisters”.
Angela Berg was born in Fernie and attended Lord Byng High School, from which she graduated in 1951. She trained at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver and married in 1958. She later worked at the Tom Uphill Memorial Home in Fernie, and also as a staff nurse in China.
See also Oral History files, Fonds 18, Series 3,Subseries 8Phyllis Bernez trained at the Calgary General Hospital School of Nursing and later received a Certificate in Teaching and Supervision from UBC and a Certificate in Polio Nursing from the Children’s Medical Centre in Boston. She spent much of her early working life in Calgary, but moved to Vancouver in 1978. She was an instructor in Medical Nursing for two years at Vancouver General HospitalSchool of Nursing, Co-ordinator of Rehabilitation Nursing at Holy Family Hospital, and nurse at the A.S.K. Friendship Centre.
She worked at different times in Bermuda and St. Lucia, which she described as among her most memorable working experiences.