Marilyn Faith Jackson

Marilyn Faith Jackson obtained her RN from Toronto’s Wellesley Hospital, her baccalaureate degree (BScN) from the University of Manitoba, and her Master of Education (MEd) from the Ontario institute for Studies in Education (OISE). She began her teaching career at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg and continued teaching at Centennial College in Scarborough. 

In 1977 she joined the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria as Assistant Professor, where she taught in the Post RN program. She devoted significant time to orienting the RNs to university study and expectations beyond the courses she taught. Her colleagues remember her as being very kind and helpful to them as incoming fellow faculty members, orienting them to the University of Victoria and life in Victoria. They recall her as “…one of those people who could do everything and do it well.”  

In 1983, Elaine Gallagher, Marilyn Jackson, and Dorothy Kergin received three grants to host the First National Conference on Gerontological Nursing. Four hundred nurses came to Victoria to attend. The following year, the same team secured another conference grant from Health and Welfare Canada. This became the foundational meeting of the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association. Marilyn was instrumental in facilitating both conferences.  

Marilyn was active in the Faculty Association and with faculty in other Departments, Schools and Faculties at the University of Victoria. She served on many boards, committees, and charitable organizations. She is best known for her contributions in the fields of neurology and gerontology.  

She received a World Health Fellowship and Honorary Life memberships in both the Vancouver Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association.  

Marilyn’s colleagues found her to be “a thoughtful, helpful, and disciplined ethical person who went out of her way to be constructive and positive in the way she approached life and others.” At her death in 2000, she was honoured for her magnificent strength of character, sense of humour, and dedication to service.