Yvonne Theresa Hammond
Yvonne was born on the 4th of September 1933 in Faversham, Kent, England to parents Edward and Elsie Jones. She spent her school years in Faversham and upon graduation went to work as a laboratory technician at a local food factory and then as a receptionist at two doctor’s surgeries. This was followed by her lifetime ambition to be a nurse and she began as a student nurse in 1955 at the mental hospital at Chartham near Canterbury. It was also at this time she entered the local beauty contest and was crowned Miss Faversham. She was also a qualified midwife. It was while she was at Chartham she met her future husband George who was serving in the army and they were married on the 4th of June 1960 at the Faversham Parish Church. Upon George’s leaving the army he was to get work in Peterborough which led Yvonne to continue her nursing career at Peterborough General Hospital where she was promoted to Nursing Sister. They immigrated to Canada in 1970, settling in Nanaimo, British Columbia as she had a cousin nearby. Once settled in, she was to start back to her nursing career at Nanaimo General Hospital. After a short time she was again to achieve promotion to Senior Sister. Yvonne’s life would take a turn in 1990 when her husband George died at the age of 55. Yvonne never remarried. Feeling a need for change she retired from nursing but this didn’t stop her need to help people as she joined Altrusa in April 1991 and served as president from June 1, 1994 to May 31, 1996. She would do whatever it took to help including presiding over a conference held at the Coast Bastion Hotel with over 250 members from across British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Northwest to working on many projects from presenting bursaries to high school recipients, acting as the resident tea leaf reader at a tea party and raising funds with gift wrapping at Christmas time. She was involved in many projects over the years to better her community including the children’s water park on Howard Avenue. Always ready to volunteer when needed, she will be missed by all who knew her there. She loved to travel and did so with her husband around Europe but Italy was her favourite. She made a trip to Japan to attend an international nurse’s conference and took her mother, talking many times of the fun they shared. She drove often to Calgary to visit friends and to the United States to attend Mary Kay and Altrusa conferences. As well as selling cosmetics she also worked in women’s fashion stores and for those of you who knew her this was reflected in her flawless make up, complexion, hair, and fashion sense. Yvonne was a passionate lover of cats and they were her constant companions. Over the years she owned many and when sending letters or cards they always came from Yvonne and her cats, they were never left out! In 2013, Yvonne moved to Kiwanis Lodge as an injury had her requiring some assistance. She was treated wonderfully by the staff. She had further complications in 2015 which led to her peaceful death on the 29th of July 2015. Yvonne is survived by her sister Sheila, brother Trevor, brother-in-law Bryan and nephews Martin and Richard and niece Katherine. In lieu of flowers as she loved cats and all animals so much, a donation in her name to an animal charity of your choice would have pleased her. We want to thank the wonderful people of Kiwanis Lodge who over her two years there and in her final days treated her with care, kindness and compassion. Yvonne will return to England where her family will hold a memorial service and spread her ashes at the Charing Memorial Gardens at Ashford, Kent to be with her parents Edward and Elsie Jones.