BARBARA RUTH HAMILTON RN

1934 - 2022

HAMILTON, RN, BARBARA RUTH Barbara was born March 30, 1934, in Sudbury, Ontario, to Isabel Rennie Hamilton (nee Greig, 1904-1993) and Leonard "Barney" Hamilton (1902-1980). Raised in Copper Cliff, Ontario, she was the younger sister of Lorraine Hamilton (1932-2023), whom she followed into nursing training at Women's College Hospital in Toronto, graduating in 1956. She died at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, July 31, 2022, with her nieces by her side, after a final visit from her loving sister. Barbara had a tremendous nursing career. Following graduation she worked at the Sudbury Memorial Hospital in the O.R. as part of a surgical team pioneering a new heart procedure. This experience inspired her to undertake additional training in cardiac and critical care nursing. By 1964 she was the O.R. Supervisor at South Peel Hospital, where she managed the O.R. and Recovery Room. When the hospital established a Day Surgery Unit in 1972, a relatively new concept at the time, Barb's duties expanded too. Over the years, Barbara took on responsibility for the Emergency Department and a dedicated outpatient service. In the 1970s, she was a member of the planning group that redesigned critical spaces, a role she relished. In the mid-1980s, she helped develop a Regional Neurosurgery Service, a major undertaking for the newly named Mississauga Hospital. By the late 1980s, she was responsible for Intensive Care, Coronary Care and Cardiology. Barbara retired in 1993, after what she described as a truly rewarding career. Barb was a dedicated professional but she was also a devoted daughter, sister, and aunt, travelling to Sudbury and elsewhere with her lifelong companion, Sandy Winters, many times a year for every occasion to be with family. In her twenties, she bought a camp on Long Lake close to her childhood home, where her young nieces spent every summer with their grandparents. Barbara loved picking blueberries and nightly games of Rumoli or Old Maid. She swam, waterskied, canoed and enjoyed the outdoors. In winter she snowmobiled. In later years, she and Sandy shared a place in Muskoka. They enjoyed the single, childless life: sporty cars, theatre and concerts, and fun-filled dinner parties. Barb liked fine things and was always elegantly dressed. She loved to travel, to Europe, the Caribbean and Hawaii. Barbara left behind her sister, Lorraine (deceased January 2023); her nieces, Jan, Suesan, Heather, and Barb; and her nephew, Greig; as well as ten great-nieces and nephews. She and Sandy were devoted to two miniature Schnauzers, Heidi and Sasha. Sandy predeceased Barb in September 2020. Barb was loved and she is missed. She had an enduring love for her parents and sister. She will be buried with them in Sudbury, as was her wish.