08/13/2026
Doctors and nurses weren’t the only health care workers who had an impact on public health during Burns Lake’s formative years. Many residents without degrees or professional training provided invaluable service to the community.
Marion Gerow was one of those people.
Marion came to Burns Lake with her husband, Don, in 1916. At that time and for the next several years, there were no resident doctors or nurses in the Lakes District. That changed in September 1919, when the Women’s Missionary Society (WMS) established a makeshift hospital in the Keefe family’s old roadhouse at the top of Southbank hill, but Burns Lake residents suffering from illness or injury had to travel there for care. Expectant mothers went there to give birth, too. Hector Gerow, the Gerows’ son, was the first baby born in the ‘new’ Prosser Point hospital at Southbank in 1920.
Perhaps it was that experience that convinced Marion to get involved in health care. Then again, maybe it was her steadfast work with the United Church and its satellite organization, the WMS. Either way, over the next several decades, she became one of the community’s most respected – and beloved – health care workers.
When the WMS shifted its support to the new log hospital in Burns Lake – and before the facility had a permanent doctor – Marion helped the facility’s two nurses care for local patients. Later, she became the housekeeper in the 19-bed hospital at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Alaska Way.
Improving health care in the region wasn’t just a job for Marion; it was a way of life. She was a founding member of the local ‘Hospital Aid Society’ (now the Burns Lake & District Health-Care Auxiliary) in 1938, and remained active in the organization for decades.
One of Marion’s colleagues in the auxiliary had this to say about the woman who dedicated her life to helping others:
“Mrs. [Marion] Gerow has been involved in hospital work since the early 1930s. For some 33 years, she was head housekeeper at the hospital. Fondly known to all as “Mother,” she worked hand-in-glove for years with the hospital and Hospital Aid Society.
“At all times, Mrs. Gerow has upheld the ideals of the auxiliary, and while she no longer works in the hospital, she is still very active in the auxiliary. You will find on going to visit her that she still sews for the hospital, making aprons, bandages, and anything that she can to still be of service. Mrs. Gerow is one of the original members of the auxiliary, joining at its inception in Burns Lake [on] April 12, 1938.
“We feel that all pioneer residents and many newcomers, too, join us in this tribute to a lovely lady who in so many countless ways is responsible for the fine medical care offered to all over the past 40 years.
“Mrs. Gerow rarely missed a meeting and can be called on to recall dates and happenings with amazing accuracy. She is a gem, and we consider it an honor to have known and worked with her.”
Mrs. C. S. Patterson, president of the Dominion Board of the Women’s Missionary Society, shared these sentiments. In an address delivered at the opening of Burns Lake’s third hospital in 1960, Patterson paid tribute Marion.
“One more friend of this hospital should be mentioned – Mrs. Gerow, the housekeeper,” Patterson said. “Mrs. Gerow, for twenty-five years, has served our hospital faithfully and has at all times upheld the ideals of the WMS. Mrs. Gerow has already done much of the packing in preparation for the move to the new hospital.”
Marion Gerow’s contribution to health care here is undeniable. But she was just one of many quiet contributors who worked behind the scenes to ensure residents received the best medical care possible. Their legacy of giving continues today.
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Want to know more about the history of health care in the Lakes District? Visit our website, www.lakesdistrictmuseum.org.
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