Oriender Nombuyiselo Mbundu, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 20th, 2022, at Louis Brier Home & Hospital, in Vancouver, British Columbia. She will be mourned by many who loved her and those touched by her compassion and generosity. Above all, she’ll be sorely missed in particular, by her close-knit community of Windgate Choklit Park, where she lived for decades.
Sis Orie, as we affectionately called her, was born on January 19th, 1935, in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was her passion to help others, that she decided to go into nursing. She did her nursing training at Baragwanath Hospital, the largest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere at the time, and then her midwifery at Edendale Hospital, in Pietermaritzbug, South Africa. She then started her working career at Livingstone Hospital, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Because Oriender loved to be challenged, she decided to broaden her horizon beyond the borders of Apartheid South Africa. She applied for a nursing position in Canada, and she was accepted. She came to Canada, in May of 1967, and her first port of call, was Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan, which unfortunately, she found to be bitterly cold. She then moved to Montreal, Quebec, where she worked for years as a Registered Nurse. Again, Oriender was on the move once more, she left her comfort zone of Montreal, trekked West, and landed in Vancouver, where she continued her career at St. Vincent’s Hospital Langara, and Yaletown House Society, a nursing home in downtown Vancouver, until she retired.
Oriender leaves behind a number of cousins and grand nieces/nephews who always enjoyed her company whenever she visited her Motherland, South Africa.
A service will be held for Oriender on Thursday, November 10th, 2022 at 10:00am at:
Christ Church Cathedral
690 Burrard St.
Vancouver, BC
Hamba Kakuhle maMiya!
Lala Ngoxolo Ntombi Endala!
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Oriender Nombuyiselo Mbundu January 19 1935 October 20 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Vancouver, Province: Colombie britanique