LINDA MARGARET BUZZELL

(née Hogg, July 16, 1940 – January 17, 2026) Linda died on January 17, 2026, at Westview Place, Penticton, BC. Her husband and daughter were with her. Her passage was very gentle – one minute she was there, the next minute she wasn't. Linda was a force of nature! She had an infectious laugh and a smile which would light up a room. She was a caregiver to her mother and grandmother, even while living and working full time, many time zones away. She could make a gourmet meal out of nothing and stretch it out to feed anyone who showed up. She was opinionated – Linda Buzzell pronouncements occurred (sometimes they turned out to be true). She could find a parking space, even when the parking lot was full. She held senior nursing positions doing service, education, and administration, in hospitals, colleges, and universities in six cities on four continents. Linda Margaret Hogg was the daughter of Allan Hogg and Kathryn Henley. She was born in Ottawa and moved to Belleville with her mother after her father was killed in 1943. She grew up in Belleville and trained as a nurse at Kingston General Hospital (RN, 1962), McGill (Diploma in Teaching & Supervision in Medical Surgical Nursing, 1964; BN, 1968), and the University of Alberta (MN, 1990). She married Jerry (Gerald) Buzzell in 1968 and moved with her husband to Canberra, ACT, Australia where she was hired as a Tutor Sister in the Canberra Community Hospital School of Nursing. In her three years in Canberra, Linda rose in the ranks from Sister Grade 3 to Deputy Principal Tutor; she became part of a nationwide taskforce to reform and modernize nursing education in Australia. While in Canberra, she made trips back to Belleville to organize care for her mother (who had MS) and grandmother. The couple moved to York, England, where Linda was hired as Ward Sister of the York County Hospital's Orthopaedics Department. Then, in Adelaide, South Australia, she did agency nursing in hospitals, nursing homes, an abattoir, and two car factories. The couple moved back to Canada in 1975 and Linda became a Teaching Fellow at George Brown College, where she worked on a computer test bank for the Canadian Nurses Association and investigated the use of audio-visual television in the clinical area to improve the learning of psychomotor skills. In 1977, daughter, Heather Lucinda Buzzell, was born. In 1978, Linda and Jerry moved to Edmonton, where Linda became Assistant Director of Nursing with responsibility for six surgical and medical wards. She attracted numerous administrative responsibilities, finally becoming Clinical Nurse Specialist/Recipient Transplant Coordinator in the heart, lung, and liver transplant program. She parlayed her experience with the transplant team for her MN thesis: The Experience of Waiting for a Heart Transplant. In 1979, son, Allan Gerald Buzzell, was born; he died 5 months later, a SIDS death. Life went on. In 1980, Linda's mother and grandmother sold their home in Belleville and moved in with Linda and her family, making this a four-generation household. This arrangement was much more convenient for Linda, who hired nurse aides who cared for her mother and grandmother while she worked at her day job; Linda took over their care in the evenings and overnight. Both Linda's mother and her grandmother died in 1986. In 1985, Jerry and Linda bought land and a cottage on a property owned by Jerry's family on Lake Seymour in northeastern Vermont, forming a family focus during summer vacations. In the mid-1990s, Linda and Jerry began to develop itchy feet. Having been globetrotters for the first 5 years or so of their marriage, Linda and Jerry had been stationary for 19 years. They felt life was in danger of becoming boring(!), so they retired and took positions in Kuwait. Linda was hired as a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Allied Health and Nursing where she worked with third and fourth-year students of the BScN programme, teaching Community Health Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, and Critical Care Nursing. She also organized tutorial sessions in Nursing Research. Kuwait was a new experience; security was tight as the country was recovering from the first Gulf War. As well as their academic responsibilities, Linda and Jerry joined the Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association, took several sailing courses leading to Royal Yachting Association certification, and enjoyed sailing in Kuwait Bay. They also took advantage of vacations and the country's proximity to Europe and the Middle East to explore nearby destinations, as well as visiting Heather in BC and Jerry's family in Vermont. Three years in Kuwait were enough, though! In 2000 they moved down the Gulf to the UAE, where Linda became the Associate Director of Nursing at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain. She was in charge of Support Services (including Materials Management), Project Manager-Nursing for the Eastern Medical region of Abu Dhabi, and was responsible for nursing care in Medicine, Paediatrics, Surgery, and (as needed), other areas. Linda retired (for the second and final time) in 2006; Jerry in 2010. They returned to Canada, settling in British Columbia, first in the Shuswap area, later in Penticton in the South Okanagan. During this time, Linda joined rug hooking groups in Summerland, BC, and in northeastern Vermont. Until the COVID years, springtime would see them driving 4600 km to their cottage in Vermont, and autumn would see them driving back. They visited Iceland, Germany, Edmonton, and Vancouver Island. Friends from their Kuwait days alternated spending Christmases together in Kimberly and Penticton, again until COVID put an end to that. Linda is survived by Jerry Buzzell, her husband of 57 years; Heather Buzzell, their daughter; and Linda's cousin, Judy Pobuda of Parksville, BC. She was predeceased by their son, Allan Buzzell; and Linda's cousins, Scott and Robert Henley and Alan Poole. In lieu of flowers, the family asks anyone who desires to make a contribution to a charity of your choice. To send condolences, please visit www.providencefuneralhomes.com.