In a world where the population is approximately 7.4 billion people, and approximately 50% of those people are female, there are a lot of stories that have gone untold. This cache series recognizes some amazing women and girls, and highlights their contributions to our planet...some large, some small, but all very important. Do you know all of these Mighty Girls? I hope that someone in this series is a new name to you, and that you will help to share these stories, and many more! I also look forward to hearing your own Mighty Girl stories!
A Mighty Girl 1: Dr. Reba Willets
Reba Willets was born in Kelowna in 1906. Interestingly, she was delivered by the first resident doctor in Kelowna, Dr. Boyce. She grew up in Kelowna, and then travelled to Toronto for medical school, where she graduated in 1931. Dr. Willets was one of seven female graduates in a class of 97. While Canada’s first female doctor was licensed in 1875, there were only a few accepted into medical schools in any given year.
Dr. Willets returned to Kelowna where she worked alongside Dr. Boyce as the first female doctor in Kelowna. She led a long and interesting career in the province of British Columbia, working in public health, family health, and in the field of preventative health for children. Dr. Willets was named president of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada (FMWC) in 1955. Dr. Willets married after she had retired, and is buried in Kelowna as Reba Schoenfeld. According to my research (but I have to check at the cemetery!) she is buried in the Kelowna City Cemetery.
City Pioneers are of interest to me...regardless of the city...but it is particularly interesting to discover that a pioneer in the medical field lived right here!