Adamson, (nee Stewart) Grace “Torchy” (1927-1992)
See Oral History files, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8
Nicknamed “Torchy” because of her red hair and outgoing personality, Grace Adamson graduated from Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1950 and received her BSN from UBC in 1951. She taught at Vancouver General Hospital and worked as a VON in Vancouver’s downtown east side in the 1950s. After her marriage she left active nursing, but worked as editor and then co-editor of the VGH Alumnae newsletter from 1952 to 1992.
Her daughter remembers that her mother taught her “to care in ways that advocate for social justice, change, and transformation.” After her death the Grace Torchy Stewart Adamson Memorial Scholarship was established to honour her dedication to nursing education.
Contents of Biographical File
- Biography by her daughter, Janet Adamson
- One photograph (1950)
Mary Fewster was born in Cardiff Wales and graduated from Guy’s Hospital in London. She moved to Canada in 1958 and soon after spent three years in Rhodesia as a nursing instructor and then moved to BC where she was an instructor at the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing. She had a BSN and MSN from UBC. In 1975 she joined the faculty at Douglas College. She was a member of numerous nursing organizations such as the Nursing Education Council of BC, the Nurse Administrators’ Association of BC, and RNABC’s Board of Directors and Board of Examiners. Internationally, she served as a nursing consultant for WHO. and received an Award of Excellence from RNABC in 1987.