Norma Elliott was many things: a rebellious spirit; a natural leader; a pragmatic problem-solver; a devoted caregiver. As a skilled and respected nurse, she made a profound impact on healthcare in the Rainy River District. And now, her legacy is living on through a matching donation campaign launched by her husband, Jack Elliott.
The fundraiser has been organized through the Riverside Foundation for Health Care, and will be used to buy an ultrasound machine for the Rainy River Health Centre — a facility which Norma’s devotion helped to create. Jack will be matching community donations dollar for dollar up to $10,000 toward the machine’s purchase. It marks a significant upgrade for the Rainy River facility — most patients have had to travel to Fort Frances for ultrasounds for the past several years.
For Jack, the campaign is a way of honouring his late wife’s memory; she passed away after a battle with cancer, at the height of COVID restrictions, making a community gathering impossible.
“We never really had a chance as a community or as a family to say goodbye and thank you. Because we hoped everything was going to be OK. We feared it wouldn’t be OK, but we hoped it would be OK. But it just never turned out like that,” he said. “Then when Norma DID pass away, we COULDN’T say goodbye. There were only 15 people allowed at her funeral. We were waiting to have a memorial a year later, but a year later, you still couldn’t get together. It just never happened.”
For Jack, leaving a lasting legacy for the community and hospital Norma loved is a fitting way to remember her.
“I don’t want Norma to be forgotten,” he said. “She was such a huge part of my life, of course, but she was a huge part of the District, and healthcare.”
That’s a sentiment echoed by those who knew her.
“Norma was a driving force behind the design, funding, and realization of our current Rainy River Health Centre facility, a true testament to her abilities and commitment to healthcare and her community. She was an important part of our Riverside family,” said Julie Loveday, executive vice president, clinical services & CNE.
“She touched many lives and was always very respected,” said Tammy McNally, administrator of Emo and Rainy River health centres. “She was very proud of the beautiful facility that was finally built. I have been very lucky to follow in her large footsteps”
Norma was a driven leader her entire life. As a young girl, she was a ringleader for schoolyard antics — many of which had her repeatedly expelled.
“The mother superior said she would rather look after 100 wild water buffalos than one Norma,” recounted Jack.
In nursing, she found her purpose. She had the second-highest mark on the national nursing exams for all of the Philippines, eventually landing in Winnipeg, as a scrub nurse for a transplant clinic.
Although she was hired as the student nurse, her take-charge nature quickly propelled her into management.
“And that’s how it always was. Cream rises to the top, and she was always on top, leading the way,” said Jack fondly. “She had an amazing ability to look at a problem and solve it. To see something that should be obvious, but others couldn’t see.”
She also had a way with people. She was asked to step in during some troubled times at Rainycrest, and inherited a long list of union grievances. She got to work, implementing regular sit-down meetings.
“The nine months she was there, there wasn’t a single grievance,” said Jack. “There were still problems. There were still disagreements. But she had the ability to sit and get along with people.”
It was that attitude that helped the current Rainy River Health Centre to be what it is today. From inception to ribbon cutting took 18 years, and millions in fundraising, but Norma was there every step of the way.
“She was very proud of the hospital, and the people who worked there,” said Jack. “I think for Norma, it would be very gratifying to know that what she did, was not done in vain.”
For Jack, the donation is his way of giving back not only to the love of his life — his Pearl of the Orient — but to the place he calls home.
“The Rainy River district has been very good to me,” he said. “I think if you’e going to be part of a community, you’ve got to be a giver. You’ve got to take the good with the bad and you’ve got to step up.”
To add to the campaign, you can call Allison Cox at the Foundation at 807-274-4803, or visit www.riversidefoundation.ca/rainyriver. Cheques can be made payable to Riverside Foundation for Health Care; include “Rainy River Ultrasound” in the cheque memo or detail section online.
