Margaret Joyce McLEAN

May 17, 1929 - March 27, 2018

We are saddened to announce the death of Margaret Joyce McLean (née Hicks) of Vancouver, on March 27, 2018.

Joyce was born in Cornwall, England and knew from an early age that she wanted to be a registered nurse. She trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London in the 1950s and, on the invitation of a friend, moved to Canada “for six months”. She was told that before she returned to England she needed to see the west coast and so headed to Vancouver. And there she stayed for the rest of her life. She worked at the old Vancouver Children’s Hospital from 1958-1976, eventually becoming the Director of Nursing there. It was there she met Dr. Donald M. McLean, whom she married in 1976.

Joyce will be remembered for her deep Christian faith, her warm smile, her astonishing memory for people’s names and for her welcoming heart. She had a love for learning, even well into her eighties.

She is survived by her loving husband, Donald, her brother in England, Mr. Justice John Hicks and his wife, Mary - and by the many people whose lives she touched.

A service to celebrate the life of this wonderful woman will be held at her beloved Fairview Presbyterian Church (corner of West 11th Avenue and Fir Street, Vancouver) on Saturday, April 7 at 1:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to Regent College, Vancouver, would be gratefully appreciated.