Olga Joan Bertrand

Throughout her entire life she worked selflessly to ensure everyone else’s wellbeing. Her caring nature and empathy towards others was monumental. A devoted and committed Catholic, she volunteered at church cursillos, bazaars and at Birthright for many years helping those in need. Her life overflowed with love, kindness, humility, patience, and diligence. She graduated with honours from the Medicine Hat General Hospital School of Nursing (1952). She went on to work in several hospitals including Drumheller and Ponoka municipal hospitals, U of A in Edmonton, Holy Cross in Calgary which was her favourite place to work and where she was a member of the O.R. open heart team. The Alberta winters must have gotten the best of her because she ended up in California and worked at the St. Eligius Hospital in San Francisco and the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Beverly Hills. While working at Cedars of Lebanon, she had the pleasure of meeting some of Hollywood’s giants including Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Dean Martin and she even sat down for breakfast with Ronald Reagan. She retired in the early 1960’s to become a dedicated and devoted wife and mother of 4 children. She and her husband Vic of 48 years settled in Kelowna and raised their family in the beautiful sunny Okanagan.

She was predeceased by her husband Vic (2011), her parents Sam (1953) and Tillie (1993), her two sisters Helen (1939) and Ann (2011), and her great friend of more than 40 years Philomena Murphy (2020). Olga will be lovingly remembered by her 4 children: daughters, Lynn (Scott Wilson) Edmonton, Lisa (Jeff Peters) St. Albert, her sons: John, Montréal, and Joseph (Lisa Downham) Okotoks; and by her 8 grandchildren, David, Terri-Lynn, Michael, Alyson, Alexander, Benjamin, Chloé and Joshuah. She will be greatly missed by her only surviving brother Ted in Calgary, and her cousins Molly Elstone nee (Kostynuik), Bessie Kostynuik and Shauna Lawson nee (Elstone).

Olga, thank-you for being part of our lives. Instead of leaving a void, you will leave behind an inspiration for generations to come. God bless you.

A celebration of Olga’s life will be held at St. Pius X Catholic Church, (1077 Fuller Ave, Kelowna, V1Y 6X6), with a date to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations being made in Olga’s memory directly to Birthright, (777 Coxwell Ave, Toronto, ON M4C 3C6) or online at www.birthright.org or to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, (20 Eglinton Ave West, 16th Floor, Toronto, ON M4R 1K8) or online at www.alzheimer.ca/en.