Helen Doris Taylor

March 18. 1932 - September 07, 2026

Helen Graduated from the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing (RN) and obtained Bachelor of Nursing (BN) and Master of Science MSc. (A) degrees from McGill University. She worked in Florida, USA for a period, returning to Montreal where she subsequently was appointed director of nursing of the Jewish General Hospital, followed by director of nursing of the Montreal General Hospital, with cross appointment at McGill University as associate professor of nursing. Helen was active in health care organizations throughout her professional career and she served successively as president of the Association of Nurses of the Province of Quebec (Montreal); as president of the Canadian Nurses Association (Ottawa); as president of the Canadian Nurses Foundation (Ottawa); and as president of the Commonwealth Nurses Federation (London, Eng.). She served as chairman of the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation (Toronto and Ottawa); and she was a nurse surveyor for Canadian hospitals and long-term care facilities over a period of 20 years. She also served on a number of other multidisciplinary health-related committees in Quebec and Ontario and worked as consultant to several long-term care facilities throughout Ontario.

In 1984, Helen was invited by People-to-People International, (Spokane, WA.) to lead the first Canadian nurses' delegation to China as that country had newly emerged from its Cultural Revolution. She was recipient of Her Majesty The Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal (1977) and of Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).

After moving to Victoria in 1992, Helen worked part-time in long-term care, and she and Malcolm travelled extensively. She maintained a large vegetable garden for a number of years and she did considerable volunteer work. She also was a member of Soroptimist International of Greater Victoria, 'best for women` service organization for several years.