In memory of the late Eva Henderson, who passed away on Jan. 17, the Yellowknife Community Foundation (YKCF) has announced the establishment of the Eva Henderson Memorial Fund.
“The fund will be established to support healthcare professionals pursuing educational opportunities, including palliative care,” reads the YKCF notice.
“It is an honour for YKCF to establish the Eva Henderson Memorial Fund, to inspire and support healthcare professionals to build on Eva’s legacy,” said Laurie Gault, chair of YKCF.
Henderson began her life of service on July 20, 1925 on a farmstead outside Edmonton. The farm life wouldn’t suit her for long, however, as she always knew she would be a nurse.
She would later graduate from the Edmonton General Hospital and first registered in Alberta in 1948.
After taking a break from nursing to raise a family, Henderson returned to nursing in 1970 in Churchill, Man., before moving to Fort Smith and then to Yellowknife.
“Henderson was a founding member of the NWT Nursing Association and was an honorary lifetime member of the association,” reads the YKCF notice. “She worked at the Stanton Cottage Hospital and helped with the establishment of homecare services in Yellowknife.”
“Eva had an innate ability to discern what was under the spoken words which gave insight beyond the nursing skills taught in a school,” said Audrey Henderson, Eva’s daughter. “Eva would spend time at the bedside of the patient offering motherly comfort as well as medical expertise. People were her passion and she served them well.”
‘Leave as friends’
Eva, who also had a bed and breakfast (Henderson Bed and Breakfast, which ran from 1985 to 2014), would host many of the nurses who came to the North, introducing them to local nursing experiences and the ways of the North.
“Her motto for the bed and breakfast was ‘come as guests, leave as friends.’”
YKCF and its board of directors extend their deepest condolences to the Henderson family.
Donations to the memorial fund can be made through CanadaHelps.
“The Yellowknife Community Foundation was formed in 1993 to provide interested individuals and organizations with a means of supporting projects in our community for the enduring future. The foundation is not singularly dedicated to any specific area of support. It embodies a simple concept — that people working together can make a difference,” reads a statement from YKCF.