It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Lorna Stewart of Victoria, BC, on December 25, 2024, of a rare and aggressive form of liver cancer. She passed away in the arms of her loving husband Murray Gordon.
Lorna grew up in a small farming community in Winchester, Ontario. After high school, she trained as an X-ray Technologist at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, Ontario. While there, she attended Queen’s University where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology and then a Master’s of Public Administration. After obtaining her Masters, she left her x-ray career and moved into public health and safety roles.
In 1989 Lorna moved to Edmonton to take on leadership roles, initially with the Injury Prevention Centre, University of Alberta and followed by Human Resources and Occupational Health and Safety, U of A Hospital. It was here in Edmonton that she met Murray and they fell in love. They were two individuals who shared a common soul. They did everything together. Where one was, the other wasn’t far behind. They retired to Victoria in 2015 and enjoyed the area to its fullest. They were fortunate to have shared many great adventures in their 34 years together and their passionate love for each other carried through to the very end.
Victoria was the perfect home for Lorna as she could indulge her passion for gardening. Here she obtained her Master Gardener designation with the Victoria Master Gardeners Association (VMGA) and dedicated much of her time to not only her own garden but in volunteering with the VMGA, soon becoming a valued member of the board and contributing to many of the Association’s successes.
Lorna loved to volunteer and was always looking for ways to contribute. One of her many accomplishments as a volunteer was co-chairing a group that established a new community health centre in North Kingston, Ontario. In 1986 with Lorna’s help, the Province of Ontario approved funding for the North Kingston Community Health Centre. It continues to operate today as the Kingston Community Health Centre. Her volunteering also included becoming president of the Local 451 union at the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston and as President of the Kingston Flying Club where she learned to fly and obtained her Commercial Pilots Licence. She became interested in the environment and public transit and joined the Sierra Club and the Edmonton Transit System Advisory Board. She was a member of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) as well as many other organizations. Lorna believed in lifelong learning and used volunteering to assist her in her own growth plans while making huge differences in the communities she lived in.
Lorna was also a strong advocate for public transit and especially accessible transit for the disabled. In 1998, she turned this passion into a career change and took on roles with Edmonton Transit where she was Director of Community Relations and then Director of the Dedicated Accessible Transit Service (DATS) before she retired. She did continue to consult in this field after her move to Victoria as transit was one of her most rewarding careers and personal passions.
Throughout her life Lorna touched the lives of everyone she met and never hesitated to help those around her. She worked hard to create a better world, to reduce her footprint on the planet and to create fairer, more inclusive communities and workplaces.
Lorna is so deeply missed by Murray, her family and many, many friends and colleagues across Canada.
Her family would like to thank the amazing doctors, nurses and staff at the Victoria General Hospital for the care, compassion, and dedication they showed Lorna.
Donations, if desired, may be made in her name to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Rick Hansen Foundation.
A Celebration of Life will be held in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens, 4664 Falaise Drive, Victoria, BC, on Saturday, March 1, 2025, 2:00 pm.
For those unable to attend in person you may view the service by following the Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 871 0861 3081
Passcode: 356596
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
36 Responses
This is such awful news.
Lorna was absolutely one of my favourite people in the transit industry. I loved getting to know her and working with her through CUTA. She leaves a great legacy of improvements that really made people’s lives better in Edmonton, and across Canada.
My deepest condolences to Murray and Lorna’s family on their loss. I knew and worked with Lorna as a Master Gardener. She was a lovely person who inspired us all with her energy, passion and commitment, and helped us see the beauty that surrounds us. Her spirit lives on in that beauty.
Lorna was one of those people, whom you instantly knew was caring and compassionate.
Nothing was too much bother for her, and she took care to follow up with you to ensure that all was well.
She was truly a giver and her warmth and caring will be missed as well as her sweet smile.
My thoughts are with her partner, Murray .
Deepest condolences to Murray and to all of Lorna’s family and friends. I was just getting to know Lorna over the past 2 years, when she kindly offered to be my Master Gardener mentor, having spied my University of Alberta affiliation in my email. She was a wonderful garden mentor, sharing her beautiful garden with me on several occasions, and simply radiating warmth, care, and happiness. We were so happy to realise overlapping histories — growing up in Ontario, professional moves to Edmonton, and the wonder of having both landed here in Victoria. Our experiences and loves of both cities were the source of delightful, meandering conversations over her wonderful coffee. I will miss her very much. May she rest in peace.
My condolences, I am sorry to hear this. I worked with Lorna on a project while with the City of Edmonton. She was strong and formidable, caring and compassionate, and I very much enjoyed working with her. My sympathies to Murray and family. Shannon Van Dorp
Lorna was a kindred spirit in so many ways. Her selfless promotion of public transit – and accessible transit in particular – made her an invaluable contributor at CUTA. She leaves a legacy far beyond what most of us appreciate.
My deepest condolences to Murray and the family on Lorna’s passing. I was very much saddened to receive this news. I worked with Lorna when she was Director of Community Relations at ETS both as a volunteer at community events like the Historical Transit Tours, Klondike Days and the Lunar New Year, and as a Member of the ETS Advisory Board. Her energy and enthusiasm were boundless, she had the ability to motivate people and get things done. She brought awareness and community involvement in public transit to Edmonton in a way that had never been done before. Lorna enriched the lives of all those around her, and it was a great joy to have known and worked with her. She will be dearly missed.
Dear Lorna
Your vibrancy and enthusiasm were such an asset to the CUTA family and I enjoyed connecting with you at conferences.
Deepest condolences to your family…your spirit and light will shine on.
My deepest condolences on the loss of Lorna. I feel blessed to have known and worked with her, she will always be remembered. May her kind sole rest in peace.
I’m so sad to hear of Lorna’s passing, I knew her well through our roles in the transit industry and CUTA. When I was just starting out in my career she was always so welcoming and willing to help.
My condolences to her family.