Jean Sally Wilson Scholarship
Sally was born in 1947 in Leeds, England. Her parents, who were deaf, raised an accomplished young lady who, after passing her "O" levels, worked in various jobs prior to spending six months as au pair in St. Tropez in the south of France. She learned French, one of few British people who did. She later sailed on a merchant ship to Brazil to spend several months with her uncle and aunt near Rio de Janeiro. She loved travel.
On her return, she entered nursing training at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) receiving her Registered General Nurse (RGN) qualification in 1973. The British nursing career path requires additional training to become a ward sister. Sally chose midwifery and received the State Certified Midwife Certificate from the Central Midwives Board of Scotland in 1974. Sally was appointed night sister at the RIE and spent a year there prior to embarking on a new life as RN at Montreal General Hospital in 1975. She adapted quickly to life in Canada and started classes at Concordia University.
In 1977, she reconnected with Dr. Kenneth Wilson, also trained in Edinburgh, who had emigrated to Saskatoon. She was married in 1978 and joined the Saskatoon City Hospital Obstetric Unit. She had three children, at one time had "three under 3" which is a testament to her multitasking abilities. Family life took over until 1990 when her husband became ill and she returned to nursing after successfully challenging the LPN examination in BC. Her husband recovered after two years and Sally was then able to focus on her children's education.
Unfortunately Sally developed a rare chronic respiratory disease in 2003. In spite of this, Sally traveled the world - the Americas, Far East, Australia, Pacific Islands, Falkland Islands, UK (top to bottom literally), most countries in Europe, Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Sadly her medical problems escalated and she died in December 2015.
Sally was a strong advocate for women, women's education and specifically nursing. This scholarship represents her legacy to promote learning in maternal health.