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MACQUARRIE, Josephine "Jo"
Denise
April 26, 1934 - March 13, 2019
Nurse, community activist,
volunteer and Ottawa Police
Chaplain, Metis Elder Jo
MacQuarrie died March 13, 2019
after a brief illness. Jo was
born and raised in Alberta,
daughter of Louis Solway (Salois)
and Justine Laboucane. She moved
to the Canadian North in 1966
where she spent more than 30
years living throughout the NWT
and present-day Nunavut.
A Registered Nurse, with post
graduate studies in Psychiatric
Nursing and Community
Development, she devoted her
life to the health and well
being of others. She founded the
NWT and Nunavut Chapters of the
Canadian Mental Health
Association, was a social
advocate participant in the
Mackenzie Valley Pipeline
hearings, served three terms on
Yellowknife City Council, and
was Chief Coroner of the NWT.
She was instrumental in the
establishment of the Keewatin
and Kitikmeot Regional Health
Boards and was the first to
begin helping Inuit families
find their loved ones who had
been taken away to southern
Canada for health treatment,
never to return.
On moving to Ottawa in 1998, Jo
quickly became involved in the
city's Indigenous community and
health programs. Most recently
as Community Outreach Liaison
for the Metis Nation of Ontario
(MNO) in Ottawa, Jo represented
them on numerous boards and
committees including the Ottawa
Police Service Spiritual Team
(as a Chaplain), Gignul
non-profit housing, the Carleton
University Elder's Council and
the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition.
Jo is remembered with love and
pride by her four children and
spouses Catherine (Clive Tesar),
Don, Ken (Yoshie Nozaki) and
Doug (Stephanie Carbert), and by
her five grandchildren,
Alexander, Julia, Mairin,
Lindsay and Kouta. The greatest
gift our mom and grandma gave us
was a deep respect for human
beings, in all their diversity.
Her children are very grateful
for the excellent and
compassionate care she received
at the Civic Hospital and at
Elisabeth Bruyère,
and for the visits and messages
of support from her many friends
and colleagues.
A Celebration of Jo's life will
be held Friday, May 3, 2019 at
Wabano, 299 Montreal Road,
Ottawa at 3 p.m. She will be
buried among family in Camrose,
Alberta.
For those who wish, donations
can be made in her name to the
Wabano Centre for Aboriginal
Health.
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