Pauline Chalifour

Pauline Chalifour

PAULINE MARY CHALIFOUR
Born: Melbourne, Australia
January 21, 1945
Died: Whitehorse, Canada
September 4, 2020

Pauline was born in Melbourne, Australia, to parents William and Nellie  Booth (nee Flanagan) and usually enjoyed being the sibling of Judith, Peter, John, Terry and pesky, but much beloved, little sister, Helen.

After graduating from Nursing School, Pauline set out to Go Walkabout and see the world. A chance encounter with a friend in Toronto led to a nursing job in Dawson. Arriving in Dawson in 1969, Pauline was horrified to see so many vehicles with pocked and cracked windshields. She had sudden and strong second thoughts about her career choice, but her anxiety was relieved when she was informed that these were NOT bullet holes!

Pauline enjoyed her time in Dawson, where she met lifelong friends Dorothy and Richard Martin. She loved the scenery, sense of adventure, and the people- in particular, Larry Chalifour, who was teaching there at the time. They were married in Dawson in 1971 and became proud parents to Jason, in 1974. Pauline and Larry were divorced in Whitehorse in 1987.

After moving to Whitehorse, Pauline put her Australian midwifery training to advantage when she became part of the maternity team at Whitehorse General Hospital. Over her lengthy career, Pauline helped deliver scores of babies and mentored many nurses.

In 1989, Pauline met Ted Garland. They dated, became partners and, a couple of decades later, she made Ted a happy man when she married him in Vegas (Pauline was never one to rush into things. She became a proud Canadian citizen in 2003.)

Pauline was a calm and steadying presence, whether in the mat ward or at home.  She excelled at giving wise counsel, putting the brakes on Ted, and playing Charades. In later years Pauline’s interest in quilting became something of a passion and she greatly enjoyed the camaraderie of like-minded friends. The “quilting ladies” brought her joy.

Contrary to the stereotype, Pauline was a much loved mother -in-law to Jason’s wife, Christina, and step-mother to Ted’s daughters, Rebecca (Billy) and Sue (Jay). Her grandchildren Julia and Sean Chalifour, and Georgia and Phaedra Crawford, lit up her life.

There is no way Pauline’s hospital treatment could have been better: professional and caring, it made a difficult process slightly easier to bear.

Her family would like to thank the doctors involved: Dr. Jamieson; her family doctor, Dr. Pierre Richard; Dr. Sarah Biss; surgeon Dr. Sam Samuelson and  Dr. Alex Kmet, who was with her at the end.

Kind and comforting daily care was provided by nurses Alix, Courtney,Jen, Jenny, Caroline, Diwa, Erin, Steph, Aimee and Ingrid.

Thank you to all.

Pauline’s family and friends were blessed to have her in their lives, and are grateful that she is finally at peace.  A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.