Beverley Graham Barron née Nelems passed away peacefully at Lion’s Gate Hospital’s North Shore Hospice on May 14. In March, she joyfully celebrated her 90th birthday surrounded by family and friends.
Born in South Africa to Canadian parents, Harry and Dorothy, Bev grew up with her brother Bill in mining towns across South Africa and Zimbabwe. She attended Epworth School in Pietermaritzburg by train and later went to university in Cape Town. In 1956, she moved to Canada with her family and completed her medical education at the University of Toronto.
She married Bernard in 1962, and after spending a few years in Australia, she began practicing medicine in West Vancouver and the North Shore during the 1970s.
Bev was a classic family doctor, known for making house calls, delivering babies late at night, and doing hospital rounds many mornings. Her passion for medicine was evident throughout her life, while skiing at Whistler became her favorite pastime.
Her fond memories of South Africa never faded, leading her to spend long periods living in Cape Town later on. During this time, she rekindled old friendships and enjoyed driving around Southern Africa while studying photography. She also formed a loving relationship with Jim Welsh, an old classmate from university.
Traveling was a major passion for Bev. She kept a lifelong checklist of UN Heritage Sites that took her all over the globe, resulting in many beautiful photo albums along the way.
In her later years, she moved to Victoria to be nearer to family but eventually returned to the North Shore where she resided at Amica Edgemont Village.
Beverley is survived by her children: Paul, John, Graham, and Kyung Sook; as well as grandchildren Young Joo, Henry, Julia, Elliott, Audrey, Piper, Hunter; and great-grandson Won Joo.
A Celebration of Life will take place on August 8 at Hollyburn Country Club. For more details about attending this event please reach out to Paul Barron via email at pbarron. vic@gmail. com.
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