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Remembering Sister Margaret (Patricia) Smith
Sister Margaret (Patricia) Smith
Date: 2014-07-23
"...she brought with her a veritable dynamism, coupled with an innovative mind and a healthy disrespect for out-dated thinking. She would come to represent a new force in the community."
Peter Raffo, Author of Responding to Unmet Needs: 125 years of Care in the Community
Sister Margaret Smith passed away on Sunday, July 19, 2015 at St. Joseph's Motherhouse in North Bay. Sister Margaret was a visionary leader who leaves behind a legacy of services that she personally championed to respond to the unmet needs of our community.
One example of Sister Margaret's calling was the advocacy and effort she put forth to open a Special Medical Unit at St. Joseph's Hospital to provide treatment for people in our community with alcohol addiction. She did this in 1967 when there was no such program available in the province. In 1972 the unit was moved to the former Nurses Residence building and renamed the Smith Alcohol and Drug Abuse Clinic in 1972 in her honour. Later on, the building was renamed and rededicated as the Sister Margaret Smith Centre.
We were so pleased to have Sister Margaret with us to cut the ribbon when we officially opened our new Sister Margaret Smith Centre on Lillie Street in 2009. This building will be a lasting tribute to her memory.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Sister Margaret, and for the significant contribution of all of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie, who have helped to shape St. Joseph's Care Group into the innovative and responsive organization we have become.
In conjunction with the funeral mass being held in North Bay on Thursday, July 23, 2015, the flags at our sites will be lowered to acknowledge our respect for a truly visionary woman, Sister Margaret Smith.
Attachments
Excerpt about Sister Margaret (Patricia) Smith from 'Responding to Unmet Needs: 125 Years of Care in the Community'Related Links
