With heavy hearts we announce the passing of our mother, Dr. Helen “Sharon” Dougan McMurtry, on July 7, 2020 at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, aged 77. Mum died peacefully after a long struggle with myasthenia gravis and consequent complications.  She is predeceased by her husband, Dr. Thomas J. McMurtry, and survived by her three children, Lynne (Alison) of Fredonia, NY, Sean of Edmonton, AB, and Donna (Colin) of Squamish, B.C., grandchildren Thomas, Ella, Kate, Ian and Claire, her siblings Norm Dougan (Carrie), Lynne Toole (Doug), Donna Gill, Heather Schoenrank (Rainer) and Dave Dougan (Sherry) and many loving nieces and nephews.

Sharon grew up in Shawnigan Lake, B.C., where she worked at her dad’s garage. Money was always tight, but she excelled and completed her medical training at U.B.C., where she met her husband, Tom.  They married in 1968 and moved to Vernon in 1975 to set up a joint medical practice.  She was the first female family doctor in Vernon and was highly valued, respected, and beloved by a large community of people who benefited from her care and expertise.  Sharon worked tirelessly to improve medical education in Vernon and was a Clinical Instructor for the UBC Department of Family Medicine for many years.  In 2007, she was awarded the Wallace Wilson Leadership Award by the UBC Medical Alumni Association “in recognition of her outstanding leadership and service to the profession.”

Sharon was incredibly smart and energetic, and seemed to know something about everything. She was a wonderful amateur musician, playing piano, cello, viola and violin in many groups in the Okanagan Valley and singing in Aura Chamber Choir and the Okanagan Symphony Chorus.  She loved the natural world and was the driving force behind our family’s extensive camping, hiking and canoeing trips throughout much of Canada.  Mum was a great cook whose hospitality was endless, and she created a warm, vibrant home where all were welcomed and fed well: family, friends, medical students, touring musicians, and travelers of all kinds.  It is a testament to her incredible energy and devotion that even though her accomplishments in medicine were extensive, we, her three children, always felt like we were the center of her life.  She was increasingly hampered by myasthenia gravis in the last 20 years of her life, but she never stopped fighting to participate fully in the things she loved.

We wish to extend our thanks to the doctors and nurses at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital, particularly those in the ICU, who cared for Mum so compassionately. A celebration of Sharon’s life is anticipated at a future date.  Those wishing to honor Sharon can make donations to the Vernon Community Music School, the Nature Conservancy of the North Okanagan Society, or a charity of their choice.