In Honour and Memory of Patricia Whalen [Patsy]
Patricia Ann Whalen was born on November 30th, 1930 in Vancouver B.C. She was the first born of Kathleen Rose and William Joseph Whalen. She attended school at the Little Flower Academy in Vancouver until the family moved to Woodfibre B.C. in 1941. Patsy graduated from high school there, then moved to the nursing student’s residence at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. She graduated on August 14th, 1954. Not long after she moved to Los Angeles California to work as a registered nurse. In the late 1950s she came back to Vancouver, as her father was suffering from Hodgkin’s disease and her mother needed the help. Patsy joined the Victorian Order of Nurses, driving throughout the Vancouver area in her VON provided Austin and Volkswagen Beetle.
She moved to San Diego California in 1971 and completed her Bachelors of Nursing at San Diego State University in 1975. She then completed her Masters of Nursing there in 1984, with a thesis on Family Health Nursing and Geriatrics.
She was then employed as a Nurse Practitioner, specializing in geriatrics and working for the County of San Diego as a public health nurse. She subsequently held various positions including instructing at both Point Loma College and San Diego State University and as the Director of Nursing for Hartson Home Care in the San Diego area. She retired in 1995 and stayed living in San Diego. She passed away in Kamloops B.C. on December 6th, 2018.
Photos & Tribute By Bill Whalen, nephew