June is a long-time proud Islander. She was born and raised in Norboro, a small farming community close to Kensington. She received her RN at the PEI hospital school of nursing and her diploma in public health nursing from Dalhousie University. She worked in mental health in Halifax for 2 years before returning to PEI with her husband Tom where she worked in public health nursing until her retirement. During her career, June has always had a high regard for the value of this organization and of the support that Hospice PEI volunteers along with other available services can bring to a family.
There was a short time before the PEI Home Care Program was established that providing nursing care in the home was part of public health nursing’s mandate. This included times of supporting families who were caring for a loved one in the last stages of their lives. The memory of this work along with personal family experiences have cemented her passion for the importance of providing a wide scope of systems, including hospice services, to allow people to receive all forms of palliative care in their home through the dying process. This passion does not dismiss her pride in the constant positive feedback she hears from families and her friends of the care received at our Palliative Care facility.
June and her now late husband have 2 adult children, Carolyn and Steven. She is still living in their family home in Charlottetown and is the proud Nana of 4 grandchildren all living close by. She loves the ongoing contact with them and attends hockey and soccer games, school and church activities , gymnastics competitions and piano recitals. Working for many years as a staff level public health nurse has provided countless opportunities to connect and learn from individuals and families, school age students, staff within the schools and community organizations.
Because June is Coming to the board with this varied background experience, she is looking forward to learning a deeper understanding of the Hospice PEI program and will contribute to her role on the board in whatever way she can.