Be useful in the world - Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster

It is a very long way from the rolling farmland of rural Ontario to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, but one Hullett Township native made that journey. Vera Elinor Lyon, born on Dec. 2, 1933 was the daughter of Stanley and Nellie (Manning) Lyon and she grew up on the family farm at Lot 27 Conc. 13 of Hullett Township with her older sister Frances.

 

Vera’s early childhood activities included attending the nearby one-room schoolhouse, SS#2 Hullett. She was a member of the Citizenship and Community Service group of the Burns-Londesborough Young People’s Union, where she took a leadership role in the activities there. Her secondary education was completed at Clinton District High School, where she excelled in the athletics program.

 

In September of 1952, at age 17, Vena began her career path by enrolling in the Registered Nurse program at Victoria Hospital, London. When she graduated in May of 1955, she chose to work on the staff of that same hospital until February of 1956, at which time she and a fellow classmate headed west to nurse at the Wrinch Memorial Hospital, a United Church mission in Hazelton, British Columbia. 

 

Within two-and-a-half years, she had attained the post of Matron. Never content to let grass grow under her feet, while in Hazelton, she joined a United Church there where she sang in the choir, taught Sunday school and was on the Board of Stewards. Along with these duties, she was a member of the hospital board and played baseball. What an energetic young woman!

 

After five happy years in Hazelton, the Queen Charlotte City Hospital was her new employer. Queen Charlotte City (now called Daajing Giids) is on the archipelago of Haida Gwaii that is located in the Pacific Ocean off of British Columbia’s North Coast. Once again she became the Matron of the hospital that served the Indigenous population. And, as was her characteristic, she also became quite involved in the local United Church there.

 

The next stop on Vera’s adventure was Edmonton, where she took a course in Advanced Obstetrics at the University of Alberta. Post-graduation, she spent three months as an intern at the Medicine Hat Hospital. Through all of this training, she had a plan and that was to work in the mission field in Africa. In September of 1963, she entered Covenant College in Toronto to further this ambition. Covenant College is now known as the Centre for Christian Studies. A one month’s linguistic course was pursued following her graduation, as were two months of orientation at Westminster College in London. From there, she headed to Lisbon, Portugal to immerse herself in a language course in preparation for service in Africa. Although she was originally slated to serve in Angola, it was in Tumutumu, Kenya that she ended up. In order to be able to teach nurses, Vera returned to Canada in 1969 to attend McGill University in Montreal to pursue a Bachelor of Nursing degree.

 

Along her journey, she met and fell in love with Alfred Bell, who held the post of auditor for the United Church of Canada’s hospitals. Vera, aged 37, and Alfred were wed at Londesborough United Church in September of 1971. Rev. Stan MacDonald officiated and Gail Lear provided the music. Vera was attended by her sister, Frances Balmer of Edmonton. Vera and Alfred lived in Prince Rupert for several years where they raised their children Heather, Linda and David.

 

Again, Vera took an active role in her community and local church. In a loving obituary of her, she was described as: a nurse, midwife, mountain climber, pie maker, knitter, pride parade marcher, world traveller and so much more. Her family related that she was “enthusiastic in her many pursuits, volunteering her nursing, organizing and fundraising skills to causes dear to her heart. She embraced the wonderful in each of us, encouraging us all to do more, to think more, and to give more of ourselves, especially through her trademark phrase ‘Have I got an opportunity for you!’”

 

The great heart of Vera Lyon Bell stopped beating on Nov. 14, 2020 in Nanaimo, British Columbia where she had made her home for the last 26 years of her life. Alfred, her husband of 29 years, predeceased her in 2000.
 

Heather Bell PhD., Vera’s eldest child, engaged her mother in conversations, near the end of her time on earth. These talks grew to be a book about the many adventures Vera had experienced in her lifetime. This book tells the life story of a woman of faith and of action. It is entitled What the Hill? A Memoir of Opportunities Taken. Unfortunately, it was not finished before Vera’s passing as she had been looking forward to signing copies.

 

As a testament to the breadth of Vera’s influence, records, photographs and other artifacts of hers are stored in the fonds of the United Church of Canada’s archives. Quite a journey for a girl from Huron County who had the motto: “Be useful in the world!”