Elizabeth Douglas Allan, R.N., remembered for decades of service

Elizabeth Douglas Allan, R.N., affectionately known as “Nurse Allan,” is remembered for a lifetime of service and compassion that touched countless lives across rural Saskatchewan.

Born in Elgin, Moray, Scotland, Allan came to Canada to join her sister in Kindersley. She often spoke proudly of her roots as the daughter of a Scottish crofter.

After working in Manitoba to pay off her passage, she moved to Kindersley and later trained as a nurse at Regina General Hospital, graduating in 1918. Even before completing her studies, she enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and sailed for Britain, though the First World War ended before she could serve in France.

Allan went on to serve as matron in several cottage hospitals, including at Eatonia beginning in 1925. Known for her generosity, she often spent her own money to help patients — buying baby layettes for new mothers and clothing and toys for children with long-term illnesses. Many of those she cared for remained lifelong friends.

In 1937, she received a King George VI medal as superintendent of one of Saskatchewan’s leading small hospitals, recognized for its record of being free from infectious disease.

Allan married Harold Beechinor on Dec. 16, 1938, and lived with him on a farm near Mantario before returning to nursing in 1940. She continued to work until ill health forced her retirement.

Elizabeth Douglas Allan died Sept. 25, 1979, in Calgary, leaving behind a legacy of service, kindness and professional excellence.

Source: “A Past to Cherish.”