Ancestry Project

Holy Cross School of Nursing Biographies

We don’t want to learn about your amazing life from your obituary. We would much rather hear it directly from you. We would appreciate it tremendously if you or your family could fill out this short form. Once completed, the data we collect (electronic and hard copy) will eventually be housed at the University of Calgary Archives to be stored for future reference. We can’t wait to read your amazing stories.

 

You or your family can print or save this form, and send it by post or email – whatever is easiest for you.

Ancestry Project c/o Pat Jeffery (Jensen 78)
131 Sunmeadows Cresent SE
CALGARY, AB T2X 3H1
PHONE: (403) 830-7735
patjeffery@shaw.ca 

How it Started

On our 100th anniversary, Lucille Horne (Hawkins 1962) started to record our deceased Alumni members so that future genealogists, biographers and historians would benefit from this preservation of the history of our school.

Lucille wrote the following in a letter to the Alumni:

This project began as an index, to accompany “Nuns and Nightingales”, but has evolved into a brief biographical sketch (where possible) of each deceased Holy Cross Hospital Graduate. The cliché of ‘receiving more than giving’ has been magnified many times while undertaking this project. Young women from all backgrounds responded to the ‘call of duty’, going on to excel, not only in the field of nursing, but becoming leaders in their communities, in the arts, as authors, served on political committees, as volunteers, as advocates, and where ever a need was identified. Each one has a unique and fascinating story.

 

Researching these stories has been an interesting and learning experience, assisted by alumni members who answered emails requesting class lists; those who searched and photocopied Graduation Programs, made cold calls to family members, lent their yearbooks, forwarded obituaries and provided me with the master list from the alumni records. Without fail, family members who were approached for information responded with a most gracious letter describing their Holy Cross Nurse. Cemetery clerks have all been equally cooperative and helpful by providing death/burial dates.

Unfortunately Lucille passed away (2016 August 11) before she completed her searching.  However, her husband Neil has given the alumni all her files.

In honour of Lucille, we are hoping to carry on her dream of collecting biographies on each of the 2000+ Holy Cross grads. But we need your help.

 

A record of those who have passed

Regretfully, we are a vanishing species and someday a newspaper headline will announce a birthday or death of the last Holy Cross Graduate. However, thanks to the foresight of the Bronze Commemorative committee, we will not be forgotten, as the handwritten names of all the Graduates have been placed in a time capsule in the base of the ‘Nuns and Nightingales’ Statues.

This is work in progress and we request that you support this undertaking by keeping your alumni informed of those who have gone to that special place in heaven. The Alumni “Courtesy Committee” also sends condolences from the Alumni to family members.