Our Memories of Glennis Zilm

I have fond memories of Glennis in a few different contexts. First, meeting her as my teacher when attending by distance the University of Victoria BSN program when the course was offered in Vancouver at the old VGH nurses’ residence. Glennis and Sheila Zerr taught in tandem. I remember the classes not as lectures but rather as engaging presentations and welcoming of student’s contributions. Several years later, I met Glennis again during Nurses’ Week when she and Cheryl Enwhistle came to support me at my history presentation.  I had not expected them to change into vintage nursing uniforms; the audience of older adults were delighted and I felt very (oops – a literary faux-pas) supported and relaxed.

Sadly, Glennis Zilm passed away January 16, 2026 in Campbell River. I will always remember Glennis ‘enthusiasm and compassion in sharing her knowledge of nursing and nursing history with the nursing students. She had a vivid presence in the UBC School of Nursing. She developed numerous, creative and fun displays in the hall and the student learning centre, inspiring students and making them aware of nurses’ rich history and contributions to society, whether at time of war, epidemics, or important social changes. I also remember her compassionate and critical leadership in the BCHNS, having a keen eye for the importance of building archival and artifacts collection and making it accessible and available to students and everyone interested in conducting nursing history research projects. She regularly brought the BCHNS board and members together for planning meetings, kindly inviting us to her place in White Rock. I remember her many interesting presentations at conferences and how she kindly helped students with finding resources, generously supporting them in their learning. We will miss her.

I first knew of Glennis from the book, that she and Ethel Warbinek had co-authored entitled, Legacy: History of Nursing Education at the University of British Columbia, 1919-1994.  Having been a UBC BSN student from 1971- 1975, I was interested to see what the book had to say.  I found it to be a comprehensive, well-written and well-referenced book that was interesting and easy to read.

I can’t remember exactly when Glennis and I first met but our paths crossed often when I taught in the School of Nursing at UBC.  I enjoyed seeing her around the school and at events. It was an honour to celebrate her many achievements including the UBC Nursing Alumni Award of Distinction and the Applied Science Dean’s Medal of Distinction. Glennis was always very pleased to have been chosen but genuinely surprised and humbled that she would receive such accolades.

Glennis was very generous with her time and readily agreed each time I invited her to attend the UBC BSN Orientation.  She would arrive dressed in one of the early nursing uniforms and adopt the persona of a nurse of that era.  The students were entranced by her stories of nursing in days gone by.  Glennis brought BC nursing history to life for them and for me. With no apologies, Glennis would shamelessly market the BC History of Nursing group to the students bringing bookmarks and membership forms for each student as well as cards and Legacy books as door prizes.   Glennis’s engaging and enthusiastic approach to the student orientation brought requests from the students for her to return next September.

Glennis had a zest for life and she always remained curious about the world around her.

When Glennis would send me something for the newsletter, she would always say to me “feel free to edit”, and I would laugh to myself and say, “as if I would edit an editor”.  I am not sure that I ever did.

Glennis always made you feel welcome in her home, she loved to entertain and enjoyed having you visit, especially when she moved to Campbell River.  We would sit in her sunroom, watching the ships go by and the sun go down sipping our glass of wine.  She loved that sunroom, with her desk facing out to the ocean.  I think she was happy there.

In 2022, when Glennis moved into an “Independent Living Facility”, I wondered how she might fit into (she was fiercely independent), but she did, like everything it was a new adventure to be embraced.  One of her first emails after she moved, she wrote “It’s great! I’m enjoying it.”  And she did involve herself in all manner of activities, card making being one of them her last Christmas card was one of her” latest creations”.

She will be missed and I am grateful to have had her part of my life journey.

Glennis was such a lovely person. Always so generous with her time, and support for any topic you were researching. She was a true mentor . She helped me several times back when I was doing graduate research for my doctoral thesis. I remember sitting in the Winnipeg airport with her  for 2-3 hours on my birthday, while we each waited for our respective flights home from a conference, me to Ottawa and Glennis to Vancouver. It was one of the few airport waits that I actually enjoyed! It was always a delight to spend time with her. There were many times that she contacted me with a bit of information she had come across, a person I could contact for more information, or a book she was happy to lend. It’s hard to think of BCHNS without her, she will truly be missed.

Glennis lived a long and productive life in a number of different roles, but for me, the most important was her contribution to documenting B.C.’s nursing history.  My two favourites are her collaborations with Ethel Warbinek and their history of the UBC school of nursing and their biographical dictionary of BC’s TB nurses.

I do not want to overlook the contributions Glennis made in supporting other historians of Canadian nursing. Susan Armstrong-Reid (Lyle Creelman: The Frontiers of Global Nursing, 2014 and China Gadabouts: New Frontiers of Humanitarian Nursing, 1941-1951, 2018) and Maureen Duffus (Battlefront Nurses in WWI, 2009) both gratefully expressed their thanks to Glennis. I’m sure there are others.

I had the privilege of working with Glennis on a project to research and write about the history of B.C.’s hospital-based nursing schools. In that context, Glennis insisted on two basics: the first, no sentence longer than 50 words. And, I have a propensity to write long sentences! Secondly, Glennis would only allow the use of “very” once in an essay!

These two rules give me lots of opportunity to remember Glennis and the many contributions she made.

Dear Glennis: I am heartbroken knowing that you are no longer with us. I remember how you supported me when I became the editor of the History of Nursing News in 1995. History of nursing members and the larger nursing community will not forget you, our first newsletter editor, who along with Ethel Warbinek, wrote, designed and created this professional publication from the beginning. Your many contributions to our newsletters, critiques, book reviews, news about members and compliments on each newsletter issue were treasured and uplifting. You were a visionary Glennis, and Cheers to you.

Since learning of Glennis’ death last week, I have encountered her several times. No not via a ghostly apparition, in the dark of the night, at the foot of our bed; but rather in the form of note cards & true to Glennis’ fashion, each of these Gems were/are tucked into books. Books about history, be it history of nursing, local hospitals, Vancouver’s early buildings or Women’s history. I met Glennis at the first history of nursing interest group that I attended, at Bev Du Gas’ home in White Rock in the late 1980s. I found out about the fledging HON group via the best kind of rejection letter one could ever receive…. I’d applied for an Archivist job posted at the then RNABC. The rejection letter informed me that my education & background was indeed applicable, but the RNABC was in the process of hiring a Masters prepared & well-seasoned Archivist.  Breathing a bit of relief, I read on…the writer, (Pat Cutchall, I believe) conveyed to me that I may be interested with whom I could contact in this newly organized HoN group. I was given both Nina Rumen’s & Bev DuGas’ contact info; I can’t remember who I contacted but was warmly received & invited to the next meeting in White Rock. This delightful rejection letter was tucked into an envelope & surfaced this past fall, at this time I cannot place my hand on it, but remains tucked back into that same envelope, back into its box, returned to a shelf, to be rediscovered some time down the road.

This AM just making the final revisions to this note of remembrance, I wanted to check if I had Glennis’ name spelt correctly…so I picked out her’s & Ethel’s book Legacy, & out fluttered a note card, yes by Glennis, she had given me names of a couple of potential members & she thanked me for the ‘guest’ speaker I had recommended to the group….both subjects on the card, dated more than 30 years ago have passed into & beyond my immediate memory. And yes, I did note the correct spelling of Glennis’ name.

Another time, while on the organizing committee for the International History of Nursing Conference, dated for June of 1997; I promised myself that I’d submit a project that I was about to undertake, not only for personal interest, but also for credits in completing my BScN UBC. I chose to continue with Nina Rumen’s Monuments dedicated to Nurses in Vancouver. The first task was to submit an abstract…(humm I thought this word was a verb?)…I was able to find examples of an Abstract, & thought, yes, I think I can mirror this…so wrote one out, a thumbnail sketch of my planned project. It was that very evening that Glennis phoned & she offered to assist me with writing up an abstract. (generous yes…but clairvoyant too?) A short while later, I must of faxed the abstract to her; (remember these were the days before computers, emails & google were in the common domain), I came to her cottage in Cresent Beach & to my delight she was pleased with my ‘abstract’& offered minor suggestions, which were accepted. Over the years I have kept in contact with Glennis, even visiting her several times in Campbell River. The first time was in her condo, overlooking the waters between Campbell River & Quadra Island, what a most beautiful & ever changing visita. I think it was the view that sold Glennis this home. I remember that lunch…yes it was good, but she had purchased a most excellent bottle of wine… & yes, we polished it off during that visit. And I did stay a little longer to clear my system of that beverage’s undesirable side effects. I visited this home at least one more time, then once or twice in her new assisted living home. When visiting my brothers in Courtenay, before visiting her, I’d phone Glennis, it was during one of those calls she told me of recent health concerns & declared that she was now a frail old woman…upon meeting her a few hours later, she seemed to me to the same quick & nimble minded Glennis, interesting & interested in many things, humour intact, thus in my thinking that she was not greatly changed on the outside since previous visits. The last time we visited, was during a vintage car event, centered in Campbell River… that visit was a little shorter than the others…she’d connected with interesting people in her building & met regularly before dinner. That same sparkle in her eye & bounce in her step to me remained, she was enjoying her time & connecting with others in her new dwelling place.

I hope to have clearly illustrated Glennis’ generosity, of time, expertise & of her thoughtfulness expressed via numerous note cards, her warmth, her interest in others, as well as herself being a most interesting soul.

As I continue to downsize my books, I fully expect more of her cards, yes cards of delight, to find their way to my attention  & yes a unique means of visitation.

Thank you Glennis for your generosity of spirit, your kindness, your ability to give constructive feedback, your humour & interest in & of so many things. In my thinking your life was a life well lived.

I always felt in awe of Glennis because of her extensive knowledge of nursing history and nursing events throughout the years!  However, we became friends due to the many, many times we attended the annual conferences of the British Columbia Historical Federation. We were always welcomed there, starting in 2012 through to 2022. We did lots of socializing and had lots of fun.
My special memory, though, was our trip to the Revelstoke Conference in 2016! There we stayed with another honorary member, Naomi Miller! Sadly, I had news of the sudden death of a friend in Scotland. Glennis was so kind. She comforted and supported me in my grief. I will always remember her bringing me hugs and a cup of tea that I needed.

Meeting Glennis during my graduate studies and later as a member of BCHNS were memorable. She always inspired and promoted writing confidence among nursing students and without doubt made a wonderful contribution to nursing, locally and nationally.

It was a special privilege to have had Glennis as a founding member of our BCHN Society.

I first met Glennis via her writing style books and SMART Goals, which I used extensively in the Post RN Diploma program at UVic. I got to know her personally through our in-person BCHNS meetings, our nursing uniform costume events, which Sheila Rankin Zerr was so much a part of, and events at Sheila’s house. I visited Glennis many times in White Rock and then in Campbell River, where she treated me so royally. Glennis was such a warm, lively, funny and generous person to everyone – I loved the sound of her voice. I will miss her.

I met Glennis in 1955 when we were UBC nursing students living in residence at VGH during the clinical portion of our program. I was one year ahead of her, but we saw each other frequently. When we graduated, our paths diverged due to differing careers. We reestablished our contacts when I joined the BC History of Nursing in 1990. The UBC School of Nursing was celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 1994 and Glennis was asked to write its history. She requested a UBC contact and I volunteered to work with her. I clearly remember her saying “I will only work with one person – not a committee.” Thus began our close working relationship.   For the next two years we met weekly at her home in Crescent Beach writing Legacy – the history of UBC SON.  I would share research gathered at the School and UBC library and Glennis her extensive knowledge of nursing leaders such as Ethel Johns – the first director of the School.   Meeting in her kitchen, she would type our entries onto her computer. Our next big project was research on the history of early Tuberculosis nursing in BC. By this time, she had moved to White Rock, and we continued our weekly meetings. She always gave me a cup of coffee and tasty treats. Together we wrote papers on TB nursing and presented our findings often in attractive Power Point presentations designed by Glennis.  Dedicated to preserving the memories of BC nursing leaders we wrote profiles on prominent nursing leaders. Over the many years we collaborated we never had an argument or unkind words – did agree to disagree at times. Sometimes I won and at other times she did. An excellent editor, Glennis kindly agreed to edit a couple of articles I wrote – very few changes were required by the publishers due to her expertise.

I remember the special times we spent driving to BCHoN meetings in Vancouver sharing family events and stories. Glennis expressed a genuine interest in my family. She attended Anita’s wedding and held a delightful baby shower for her at her home.   A wonderful hostess she always made one feel so welcome. Several summer HoN workshops were held at her White Rock apartment. And then Glennis moved to Campbell River to be close to her sister Val and family. We kept in touch through regular phone calls sharing our life and family stories.  In the summer of 2024, Anita and I had the pleasure of visiting Glennis in Campbell River. We went for supper at a local restaurant and she gave us a grand tour of Berwick where she was so happy. I spoke to her in early January and she sounded fine – recovering from a nasty virus so I was dismayed to learn of her sudden death.

I treasure my 65 years with Glennis and will truly miss her.

“Glennis will know” is a statement that I and others within the BCHNS executive have uttered many times over the years in our relationship with Glennis, and when we did ask her, we always got much more than we’d requested  [I somehow can’t resist a graphic here, because she always commented on them…so, Glennis, here’s my last smiley face to you!] Glennis had a very nice convincing way of empowering one to have confidence in themselves, which is how I all of a sudden found myself taking over the website from her!! She promised she would help and would answer enquiries that came through the ‘Contact Us’ feature.  I was very grateful for this because she was a master resource going above & beyond. I have missed the in-person interaction with Glennis, but so enjoyed our one visit to Campbell River & our telephone chats. We will miss her kind support and sense of humour.