Eileen Williams Grad Photo (1936)Eileen graduated from the Duke of Connaught High School in New Westminster , from VGH School of nursing in 1936 and from UBC with a BASc(N) in 1937. THE 1936 VGH Student Annual described her as
“The dark-haired, slim-fingered lass from New Westminster who brightened two years of our training with her delightful chatter. She is vivacious, eager, and an efficient nurse.”
Following graduation she worked as a public health nurse in Richmond and was responsible for Mitchell, Steveston and East Richmond. She worked with Muriel Upshall VGH’29, the first public health nurse appointed by the Richmond School Board. Together they started two health centres and initiated tuberculosis home visiting. A program of preschool health supervision was also begun at the Japanese kindergarten in Steveston.
In 1941, Eileen wrote of her nursing experiences in the Japanese community.
“The first few months spent in Steveston four years ago, can be laughed at now but at the time they were not amusing. Class lists received from the teachers were nightmares. My first attempts to pronounce names were greeted with roars of laughter from the children. If one wished to visit a student at home, how did one find his house? The class list said the student lived at Imperial Cannery. Well, there were about a hundred families at Imperial Cannery, in houses almost identical. Some of the houses are numbered, but even so, house number one and house number two are not next to each other.”
Eileen enrolled in the Canadian Army in 1942 and worked at the Military hospital in Victoria before sailing for England were she was statatiioned at Basingstoke where she cared for burn patients injured during WWII. While there, she married her husband Fred. The couple returned to Canada and lived in several cities before settling in Haney BC where they operated Haney Tire. During their retirement, the couple lived in Haney Pioneer Village.
Eileen was lovingly described as a joyful person, greeting every day with a smile and determined to accomplish yet another task. She died on August 6, 2011 at age 99.
