Goldie S. P. White
1938-2021
It is with deep sadness that we
announce that Goldie White (nee Bath) RN, BHA, CNP passed away at her
home in Twillingate, NL on July 27,2021.
Visitation (with COVID
restrictions being observed) will take place at Isles Funeral Home in
Twillingate, NL from 2pm to 4pm on Monday Aug.
2nd.
Services will be held (by
invitation only) at the Twillingate United Church on Tuesday, August
3rd at 2pm
After graduating from the
Salvation Army Grace General Hospital School of Nursing,
White went to work in Yellowknife, N.W.T., then Coppermine,
N.W.T. (now Kugluktuk, Nunavut) where she was the only healthcare
provider in the entire community (a scenario that would become a
recurring theme at many points in her 60 year nursing career). While
in Coppermine, she met husband-to-be, Joseph, a fellow Newfoundlander
and a radio operator with the Ministry of Transport at the time.
Although their jobs took them to different locations, two-way radio
communication afforded them the opportunity to keep their romance
alive. They ultimately reunited, got married and moved to Twillingate.
White was appointed the Director of Nursing at Notre Dame Memorial
Hospital, and quickly made an impact as an advocate for nurses,
challenging the hospital administration to implement policies that
offered benefits such as maternity leave (which was relatively
controversial at the time)… It was during these early years
of White’s leadership journey she became involved in the
Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland, serving on the
council for 20 years, including a term as president. During these
years her commitment to lifelong learning was illustrated by
continuing her education at Memorial University where she earned a
Bachelor of Hospital Administration Degree. After forty years of
nursing and hospital leadership, White reinvented herself by again
going back to school and completing the nurse practitioner program
through Eastern Health’s Centre for Nursing Studies,
ultimately serving the communities of Change Islands for ten years,
and Makkovik, on the northern coast of Labrador, for an additional
thirteen years. During her nursing career she received many accolades
as well as international recognition for her dedication and commitment
to improving healthcare for patients and providers alike, she was also
an accomplished and sought after speaker, delivering the keynote
address at many prominent healthcare functions. Upon her retirement,
White moved back to Twillingate where she was able to focus her energy
on just about everything except relaxing and taking it
easy.
White is predeceased by her
husband of 29 years, Joseph White, her brothers Wilfred Bath (Joan),
and Joey Bath, sister Rita Hann, father Joseph Bath, mother
Marguerite Bath, and step father Chesley Gillard. White is survived by
her three sons, Fletcher
(Joanne), Halifax,
NS Tyler (Kim), Nashville, TN, and Denver, Halifax, NS, as well as 7
grandchildren, Michaela (August), Joey, Taylor, Caleb, Sophie, Sawyer
and Noah, and 2 great grandchildren, her sisters and brothers Pat Pye
(Eric, deceased), Halifax NS, Margo (Alan), Oshawa ON, David
(Marylou), Moncton NB, and Kai (Brenda), Carbonear NL, and their
families.
In lieu of flowers, donations
in her memory may be made to the Joseph White Scholarship Fund which
was set up in memory of Goldie’s husband, Joe and provides
scholarship funds to the students at Twillingate Central Elementary
and J.M. Olds Collegiate.
Joseph F. White Memorial
Fund
175 Main Street
P.O. Box 279
Twillingate, NL
AOG 4MO
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19382021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Goldie S P White 19382021..
Décès pour la Ville: Twillingate, Province: T-N