School for Nursing Aides in Calgary - Jean Frances Ferguson Sutherland

Jean Frances Ferguson Sutherland, born in 1914, graduated from nursing in Edmonton in 1938.

After pediatric post-graduate training and a job in Montreal, Ferguson enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps as a “Nursing Sister of Canada” in late 1942 or early 1943. She was posted both in Canada and overseas, serving in England, France, Belgium, and Holland.

Before taking the helm at the burgeoning School for Nursing Aides in Calgary — where she helped enroll, register, train, post, certify, and find resources for nursing aide students — Ferguson also volunteered in the Pacific theatre of World War II.

She went on to bring her training and nursing skills abroad again in late 1955, when she received Canadian government support to help establish a nurse training program in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

An active member of the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses (now the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta), Ferguson served as the organization’s president for a time.

In her later years, she helped document wartime roles played by Canadian nurses, and volunteered with programs for senior citizens and retired nurses.

She was awarded a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for her military and civilian contributions in 2003, a few years before her death in 2008.