Categories: N-S

Newton, (nee Plummer), June (1919-2015)

• See also oral history files fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8, AU0H30, CDOH30
• See E.A. Landells, ed., The Military Nurses of Canada:  Reflections of Canadian Military Nurses.

June grew up in Kinsella, Alberta, but moved to Victoria for her nursing training, where she graduated from Royal Jubilee Hospital in 1941.  Partly inspired by stories of WW I her father told her, she became a nursing sister for RCAMC from 1943 to 1946, serving in both England and Italy.  She recalls that her first patient had no arms or legs.  She was the last President of the Vancouver Unit of the Nursing Sisters of Canada before they disbanded in 2004.

She worked as an office nurse in Vancouver for Dr. Stanley after the war, and, after taking time out to raise children, became a nurse for the children at the Sunny Hill Hospital in Vancouver from 1966 to 1976.  In 2009 she received the History of Nursing Society’s first “Recognition Award”, given to a person who has made a significant contribution to the history of nursing.

Contents of biographical file

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. McMartin, Peter, “Time and Age Overtake Them: Wartime Nurses Gather for One Last Hurrah”, The Vancouver Sun, November 10, 2004, pp. B1, B6.
3. June Newton recognition award, History of Nursing News, 20 (2) (July 2009),
4. Photograph
5. Obituary, Vancouver Sun, Nov. 21, 2015
6. Freedom of the City pamphlet for 12 (Vancouver) Field Ambulance. – April 14, 2007.
7. Twelve photographs of June Newton with others on occasion of recognition in 2007. Transferred to photograph collection as PH-1653-PH-1664.  Includes one photograph of WWII ship.
8. Memorial Program

Neylan (nee Prowse), Margaret S.  (1924-2005)

• See Oral History files, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8

At her presentation of the Jeanne Mance award in 1996, CNA president Eleanor Ross praised Neylan’s contributions to advance “the standards of nursing practice and education, and enhance the status of the profession in Canada and abroad.”   She served 2 terms as president of RNABC-  1971-73 and 1989-91 and was CNA vice-president. Margaret had a clinical background in psychiatric nursing and practiced for several years in Montreal before moving to BC. She was a faculty member of the UBC School of Nursing from 1958-1974 where she was Director of Continuing Nursing Education.  In 1975 she joined the nursing faculty at BCIT and became Associate Dean of Nursing. She retired in 1991.

Her achievements include successfully advocating for the integration of psychiatric institutions into mainstream Canadian health services.  She developed continuing nursing education programs that have been a model for Canadian curricula, and developed a model for independent learning in post-basic nursing education for remote areas. She was the recipient of several awards.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Brief biographical information
4. Announcement in The Canadian Nurse, October 1974, p. 38.
5. “B.C.’s Margaret Neylan Receives Jeanne Mance Award”, CNA Today: Special Edition, June 19, 1996, p. 2.
6. “BC Nurse Receives Jeanne Mance Award”, CNA Today, September 1996, p. 1.
7. “Margaret Neylan”, The Canadian Nurse, April 1978.
8. “Names and Faces”, The Canadian Nurse, June 1980, p. 48.
9. RNABC Awards Ceremony, 2005.
10. Requiem Mass, March 23, 2005.
11. Obituary
12. Notes for oral history taping, 1997, 1999.

Niskala, Dr. Helen (1926-2018)

• See Helen Niskala fonds 25

Helen Niskala graduated with a Diploma in Nursing from Toronto Western Hospital in 1951, where she worked from 1952 to 1957.  She spent the 1957-58 year at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London, England, as a post-graduate student.  From 1958-1963 she was an Auxiliary Medical Nurse for the Royal Canadian Air Force while working at the Ottawa Civic Hospital.

Graduation from McGill University with a BN in 1964 was followed by moving to UBC School of Nursing as a clinical instructor from 1964 to 1968.  She received her MS from The University of California in San Francisco in 1969, and her Doctorate in Adult Education from the University of British Columbia in 1976.  The title of her doctoral thesis was “Learning Needs of Persons on Home Hemodialysis”.

She was employed by the School of Nursing at the University of Alberta from 1972-1975, and served as Director of Education Services in Coquitlam for the Registered Psychiatric Nurses Association of BC.  She recommenced employment at UBC in 1982, and became an Associate Professor where her special research interests have included treatment of adults and the elderly with long term health problems, particularly in community settings.  Her teaching responsibilities included Advanced Nursing Care, Guided Study in Nursing, Clinical Specialization I and II, Teaching in Clinical Nursing, and Nursing and the Delivery of Health Care.  She also worked as a consultant on numerous projects, was active in research and publication and was Vice-President RNABC 1989-1990.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Brief biographical entries from The Canadian Nurse, December 1972 and April 1978.

Owen (nee Ford), Alice E. (1913-2003)

Alice, the great-niece of Florence Nightingale, recalls accompanying a brain injured/blind patient to Denmark as one of her most memorable experiences.  Born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, she received her RN from VGH in 1938.  She nursed at a number of Lower Mainland locations, finally as Nurse-in-Charge at the Red Cross from 1965 to 1976.  She believes that nursing no longer has the character or prestige it once enjoyed, partly because of the absence of uniforms.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. [Recollections of Nursing]
3. Obituary
4. Photograph

Patterson (nee Branscombe), Emily Susan (1835  -1909)

• See Memorial Nursing Portrait collection, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 7

Nora Duncan immortalized Emily Patterson in her poem “The Heroine of Moodyville” for her daring trip in 1883 on stormy seas, piloted by a Native in his dugout canoe, to give treatment to Mrs. Erwin, the wife of the Port Atkinson lighthouse keeper.

She had arrived with her husband and four children at Hastings Mill on Burrard Inlet in 1873.  In 1874 they moved to Moodyville.  While not a trained nurse, and was proficient in the effective use of herbal potions and remedies. Many stories attest to her success as midwife and giver of first aid and treatment to white settlers and natives alike.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Shore, Helen L. “Emily Susan Patterson:  Vancouver’s First Nurse”, BC Historical      News, Summer 1993, pp. 20-21.
2. B & W photograph

Paulson, Esther (1906-2004)

• See Esther Paulson fonds 3 and OH147
• See Pages of History Fonds 18, Subseries 9, Files 2

Esther Paulson was born in New Westminster on April 9.  She graduated from the Royal Columbian Hospital School of Nursing in 1928 and began her lifelong interest in tuberculosis as a staff nurse in the Tuberculosis building at the Royal Columbian Hospital.  In 1940, she joined the Metropolitan Health Committee in Vancouver, and in 1942 was on loan to the Division of Tuberculosis Control. One year later, she was appointed Director of Nursing for the province, overseeing nursing care for patients in Vancouver, Victoria, and Tranquille.  Her career in TB nursing continued until she retired in 1966 from being Director of Nursing at Pearson Hospital.

After retirement, Esther remained an active member of the Registered Nurses’ Association of BC, holding offices of secretary, Vice President and President (1951-1953).  She received the Centennial medal in 1967 for her contributions to the control of tuberculosis in Canada, and an Honorary Life Membership in the Canadian Lung Association for her leadership in the advancement of TB nursing in Canada.  Esther published numerous articles on TB nursing and professional issues in journals such as The Canadian Nurse and RNABC News.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Transcript of interview with Irene Goldstone February 21, 1987.
3. Transcript of interview by Ethel Warbinek October 1992.
4. Transcript of interview by Ethel Warbinek, February 3, 1993.
5. Biographical information, UBC School of Nursing History Project, March 1993.
6. Autobiography, 1993.
7. Letter from Mabel Gray to Paulson, August 16, 1933.
8. Letter congratulating Paulson for winning $20 Provincial Board of Health Prize in nursing.
9. Letter from Esther Paulson August 7, 1940 with reply by Amy Edwards, Supervisor Welfare Field Service.
10. Letter from Alice Wright June 29, 1953.
11. Letter from Dr. Taylor, Deputy Minister of Health, June 24, 1966.
12. Awards received:
    1. Photocopied UBC diploma in Public Health nursing, 1934.
    2. Provincial Board of Health Prize in Nursing, 1934.
    3. Photocopy of Paulson notice of award of a Canadian Centennial Medal, July1, 1967.
    4. Photocopies of Honorary Life Membership Certificate, letter, and dedication from the Canadian Tuberculosis Association, 1968.
    5. Honorary life memberships, RNABC History of Nursing Group, April 19, 1994, and the Canadian Tuberculosis Association.
13. Articles by Paulson
    1. “Private Duty in British Columbia,” The Canadian Nurse 30 (7) (1936), 317.
    2. “The Scope and Challenge of Tuberculosis Nursing”, The Canadian Nurse, 42,  (1) January 1946, 29-32.
    3. _________, Stalker, H.S. and Nichol, W.J., “A Tuberculosis Minimal Care Unit”, Nursing Outlook 8 (11) (1950), 620.
    4. Address of the President, RNABC Annual Meeting, May 8-10 1952.
    5. “Nursing Round-Up”, The Canadian Nurse, 49 (2) February 1953, 89-91.
    6. Address of the President, RNABC Annual Meeting, June 5-6, 1953.
    7. “The Structure Study C.N.A. by Pauline Jewitt.  Is it the Answer?”  The Canadian Nurse 50 (2) (1954), 111-115.
    8. ________ and Kunderman, Eleanor, “Tuberculosis Nursing in British Columbia,” Nursing Outlook 4 (7) (1956), 404-407.
    9. “TB Nursing: Has It Changed?”  Your Health 24 (3-4), March-April 1959, 10.
    10. The School of Nursing at the Royal Columbia Hospital and NursingEducation in Canada 1901-1976, excerpt, pp. 34-35.
    11. With Millard, N. and Harkness, I., “Nursing Care Requirements for a Polio Unit”, The Canadian Nurse 59 (7) (1963), 624-631.
    12. “Some Reminiscences,” RNABC News, June/July 1972, pp. 18-19.
    13. “TB Nursing 1908-1968”. 1987, unpublished.
    14. “The School of Nursing at R.C.H. and Nursing Education in Canada 1901-1976”.  1976, revised 1987, unpublished.
    15. “Tribute to Anna Dickman Lam,” History of Nursing News, Spring 1996, p. 5.
    16. “Summary of Different States of Tuberculosis and resources for treatment and later prevention from 1900-1970.”  (1996)
    17. “East Kootenay Health and Welfare Service 1935-1938”. BC Historical News, Fall 1997, pp. 17-21.
    18. “The Impressions of a Young Swedish Nurse on the ICN Congress and Vancouver”  Translated by Paulson from Vardfacket, the official journal of the Swedish Health Care System, Nr. 7, July-August 1997.
    19. “Highlights of the ICN Congress”, Translated by Paulson from Vardfacket, the official journal of the Swedish Health Care System, Nr. 7, July-August 1997.
    20. “Memories of Scharley Wright Brown and Helen Randal”, 2000. An unpublished monograph based on an interview by Jacqueline Ratzlaff.
14. “Arduous Trip to Bring Out St. Mary’s Lake Prospector.”  Unsourced newspaper article.
15. White, Marguerite, “American, Newfoundland Nurses to be Welcomed at C.N.A. Parley”.  On the 1950 biennium.
16. Kermacks, Claire, Biographical Outline, 1983.
17. Fletcher, Anne, “Times Change, Caring Doesn’t”, The Vancouver Sun, February 16, 1987, p. F8.
18. Letter from P. Cutshall to E. Paulson May 25, 1995.
19. Letters to Beth Fitzpatrick from Paulson, March 28 and April 3, 1996.
20. List of donations to RNABC Archives
21. Zilm, Glennis and Ethel Warbinek, “Fighting a Dangerous Legacy” Esther Paulson:Pioneer in Tuberculosis Care in BC”.  For BC Historical News, 1996.
22. Article submitted for “Pages of History”, 2002.
23. Warbinek, Ethel, “In Memory of Esther Paulson 1906-2004”, History of Nursing News, March 2004, pp. 1-2.
24. “Esther Paulson” ” from Glennis Zilm and Ethel Warbinek, “TB Nurses in BC 1895-1960:  A Biographical Dictionary”: White Rock, 2006.
25. Obituaries
26. Photographs: Paulson’s graduation, photocopied; ca. 1950; 1953; 1987; colour (1998).
27. Exhibit Materials
28. Seven digital photographs, some with notes, of Paulson’s early nursing. (On

Payton (nee Bond), Phyllis (1909-2007)

• See Oral History Files, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8

Phyllis worked as a VON and Public Health nurse, mostly in the Lower Mainland.  Her graduation from VGH in 1932 was delayed a year because of her being hospitalized for three months for contracting diphtheria.  She received her certificate in Public Health Nursing from UBC in 1936.  She worked as a staff and relief nurse, mostly in the Lower Mainland, until her retirement in 1974.

Highlights of her career include her participation in a study which showed the benefit of VON services. She also dealt successfully with an outbreak of typhoid by setting up effective containment measures to ensure the safety of the water supply.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Biography

Pennington (nee Miles), Marion (1910-1991)

Marion Pennington was born in Cranbrook, BC and graduated from VGH in 1932, receiving her degree in nursing from UBC in 1933.In 1943 she joined the RCAMC as home sister for the CWAC barracks in Washington, DC and worked for UNRRA in Germany until 1947 as nursing supervisor in camps for displaced persons.

Marion obtained her MA at Columbia University in 1949, and was appointed Assistant Director of the new School of Nursing at Dalhousie University.   From 1952 to 1954 she was Director of the Teacher Training Program for graduate nurses in Ankara, Turkey under the auspices of WHO.  She returned to Cranbrook where she was a school teacher from 1965 to 1971. She died October 27, 1991.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biography
2. Article from The Canadian Nurse (November 1949), p. 836.
3. Photograph
4. Obituary

Petch (nee Clunas), E.L. Ruth (1925-

After completing high school in 1943, Ruth took a nine-month course at the Infant Hospital on Haro Street to be a Nursery Aide.  She took her nursing training at St. Paul’s Hospital from 1948 to 1950, and after brief employment at St. Paul’s and the Shaughnessy Veterans Hospital, moved to Kelowna to work at Kelowna General.

Subsequently, she took her public health certificate from UBC, and worked out of Kamloops and then the Gulf Islands.  Much of her work was in the schools and at baby clinics.  She also dealt with community problems and supervised the control of contagious diseases such as tuberculosis.

Contents of Biographical File

• Biographical Information Profile

Powell (nee Armstrong), Margaret Jean (1925-

• See Oral History Files, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8, AUOH40

Jean Armstrong received her RN from St. Paul’s School of Nursing in 1947.  She worked in the Powell River Hospital until her marriage in 1949 when she took time out to raise her family, later returning to work part-time in a clinic.  She considered nursing native Indian children a highlight of her career.

Contents of Biographical File

• Biographical Information Profile