May 31, 1924 - Apr 10, 2018
Elizabeth "Betty" Joan North (nee Cox) passed away peacefully at her home in Meighen Manor, Toronto on Tuesday, April 10 at 6:10 AM. She was 93 years old.
Betty was born on May 31, 1924 in Ottawa to George and Nellie (Moodie) Cox. She grew up in Ottawa and spent much of her youth at the family cottage near Fitzroy Harbour. She trained at Ottawa Civic Hospital and the University of Toronto to be a Public Health Nurse and started her career with the Victorian Order of Nurses in Guelph and Ottawa.
In 1952 she married John North and continued her nursing career in Ottawa, as possible, while raising a family. John and Betty retired to Nanaimo BC in 1986 where they lived together until his death in 1993. Betty moved to Toronto in 2012 to live with son Ian and his wife Jennifer.
Betty was always helpful to others both as a nursing professional and as a friend. She was a fan of singer Bing Crosby and during her life travelled to Mexico, the UK, Italy, Scandinavia and Russia. She enjoyed nature and travelling with her husband John and their camper van all over North America.
She is survived by two sons, Ian and James, a daughter-in-law, Jennifer, two grandchildren, Adelaide and Brendan, and two great-grandchildren, Ella and Cayden. She will be missed by her entire family, including nieces and nephew, Wendy, Jane, Olwyn, Neil, and her dear friends Mary and Ruth.
In the words of a 1949 NFB documentary about her work in the VON, "she was everybody's nurse".
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Victorian Order of Nurses at von.ca.
Interment will be held in Nanaimo at Cedar Valley Memorial Gardens and announced at a later date.