Established by the generosity of Mrs. Willett in the name of her late husband, Frederick and herself the Willet Estate Bursary is a directed funds bursary and is administered by Toronto Dominion. It is awarded to a number of nurses in basic and post-basic studies annually throughout B.C. Elizabeth (Irish) Willett was born in Ireland and trained as a care aid – she did not have the financial resources to become a nurse. She went to England and found work in a psychiatric hospital. She met her Canadian husband, Fred, during the war. After a very short courtship, they married and Fred brought “Irish” home to Vancouver as a war bride. Irish could not work as a nurse because her training was not recognized but she did work at VGH and subsequently worked for “invalids” in their homes – including the wife of one of the doctors at VGH. She eventually looked after their children who maintained their relationship with Irish until her death. Irish wanted to help others who, like her, were unable to afford the costs of education, and she specifically wanted to provide money for those who sought to become registered nurses. Elizabeth passed away on Oct. 18, 2002.
Celebrating 45 years