Hi, my name is Marjorie. I started volunteering at Hospice in 2002 after I retired from nursing and following the unexpected death of my youngest brother Dennis on Mother’s Day. He was only 52 years old. He was a fun brother and an awesome veterinarian, and his death rocked our family to the core.
I was honoured and fortunate to participate in the Strategic Planning sessions when Chilliwack Hospice first became a Society and was able to influence the expansion of the original Relaxation Program. I have really enjoyed the team spirit of this program, coaching the new volunteers, and seeing team members grow in confidence as they embraced the various energy-based practices we offer. Giving and receiving energy-based sessions has been a practice I have enjoyed since the early 1980s. Being a nurse educator throughout my career, I have always been interested in the felt experience of the patient as well as why they were receiving care. It’s been my passion to offer comfort from the anxieties and fears that are aroused when people face life-threatening issues. The Relaxation Program addresses the whole person, Mind, Body and Soul, and I have found Hospice to be the one place where there is the time to offer the gentle and somewhat time-consuming touch that no longer exists in acute care settings. We know that the Mind, Body and Soul cannot heal when stressed and our program has been very helpful to offer the mindset and environment to offer the stillness and gentleness of presence and touch to facilitate the body’s reparative abilities. The Relaxation Program has not been running during the Covid-19 pandemic, but I have continued to volunteer for Hospice in other ways. Recently I volunteered to lead a ‘cooking-for-one’ Educational Workshop at the Society along with Laurie McNaught called the “Comfort of Soup”.
I am blessed to be the mother of Jennifer who lives in Ottawa and has gifted me with 3 wonderful grandchildren. I’m not too thrilled that they are so far away, and I consider myself part owner of at least the wing of a WestJet plane by now! I live with my partner Ron, who sometimes thinks he is the last one in the food chain after a pampered cat named Lucy and Chihuahua named Bella.
I am a lifelong learner, love to read, go to senior yoga, spend time with friends, grow things in my garden, watch cooking programs and look through cookbooks. I make a lot of soup, take naps (one benefit of being a senior!) and enjoy mentoring which I still do from time to time because I like to talk apparently. 😊
