HISTORY: Families and People: A - B | AITKENS

Marcia Josephine Aitkens was born in her family’s Cadder Avenue home in Kelowna. Dr. Shepherd was her uncle. He owned property and had built a cabin on Mission Creek just upstream from Ron Cherry’s present property sometime around 1920. During her childhood Marcia visited the cabin often and learned to love the outdoors there. When she had finished her high school in Kelowna, she took nursing training at the coast and later went on to post-graduate degrees. When World War II began, she joined up as a nurse and travelled with the army. After the war, she entered the academic side of nursing and held many important positions as head of schools of nursing both in Canada and the United States. She was bright, well-educated and a clear thinker who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. She was active in the Girl Guide Movement and continued to enjoy the out of doors.

During her war years, Marcia had learned to smoke and drink. As she 1918 when she aged, her mind remained perfectly clear, but her body deteriorated to skin and bones. Eventually, she could only get around when she was pushed in a wheel chair. She began giving her houseful of treasures away and moved into a nursing home where she died about a year later. Just before her death, her then unoccupied cabin partially burned down and the property was sold. In her will, she left a large amount of money to charities. Her Joe Rich neighbours enjoyed her straightforward approach and broad knowledge and miss her.