Retired gynecologist Dr. Eldon Lee often referred to as the "father of modern obstetrics in northern British Columbia" delivered more than 10,000 babies in his 32 years of medical practice.
Sixty-five years ago, he married Marjorie Cartmell, the love of his life; he has always recognized the major role his wife has played in his successful professional life. Here is their story:
Marjorie was born in 1929 in Nelson. Her father was an officer in the Salvation Army also known as a Salvationist. A Salvationist is an ordained minister of Christian faith; trained, ordained and commissioned to serve and lead and given a quasi-military rank. A Salvationist fulfills many other roles not usually filled by clergy of other denominations.
Marjorie is proud of the role her father played to help the children left behind during the Doukhobor - Sons of Freedom unrest during the late 1920s; events which included nude protests, parades and in some cases bombings of buildings.
She said, "The children of the protesters were loaded on a bus and delivered to my father at the Salvation Army Hall to be cared for while the adults went to jail.
"A bus load of children including young mothers with babies on the breast arrived at my fathers' doorstep with an official request to look after them all. They were all upset and crying and to make a long story short my father got them all organized with the help of Big Fanny Storgeoff and started them singing in Russian which calmed them down. For the next ten days he looked after them all until they were released to return to their rude houses in their isolated community."
Noteworthy is that in the middle of that crisis, Marjorie was born.
Her mother died in 1936 when Marjorie was only seven years old; she was cared for by her aunts in Chilliwack. In 1939, her father remarried a nurse within the Salvation Army.
Marjorie began her nurse's training at the Royal Columbian Hospital in 1949 and graduated in 1952. She met Eldon Lee by accident while attending nurse's training school.
She was 18 and riding her bike to dinner at her aunt's house on a foggy Chilliwack evening when her bicycle was bumped by a car. Fortunately, there were no injuries and no damage to either the car or the bike. The driver of the car got out, found her to be ok and gave her a lecture about the dangers of being out alone on the bike in these foggy conditions and then went on his way.
Eldon said, "I fell in love with her the minute I saw her when I got out of my car. I couldn't get her out of my mind as I arrived at my aunt's house for dinner that night. I wasn't there very long and to my surprise in walked Marjorie. She was still a bit annoyed at me because of the bike incident but mostly because of the lecture but she got over it and I invited her for dinner again the next night. I just knew that this girl was for me."
They were engaged for the next three years and married in 1952 when Marjorie graduated from nursing school. It was a rule back then that a student was not allowed to get married while in training so they just had to wait.
Marjorie said, "During those three years Eldon used to visit me in Chilliwack and we would sit by the Fraser River talking and listening to the current dance orchestras on the car radio."
When she graduated, Eldon was in his second year of medical training in the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle.
Eldon reflected back and with a twinkle in his eye he said, "I can remember our wedding day very well. Marjorie was 40 minutes late for the ceremony and I broke out with all the classic symptoms of Da Costa's syndrome."
I checked out what sounded to me like a pretty serious affliction and here is what I learned both from Wikipedia and from Eldon.
The World Health Organization classifies this condition as a somatoform autonomic dysfunction; a type of psychosomatic disorder listed under non-psychotic mental disorders. The condition was named after Jacob Mendes Da Costa who first described the disorder during the American Civil War. He called it irritable heart or soldier's heart. Symptoms include shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating and chest pain. Physical examination reveals no physical abnormalities; causing the symptom and treatment is primarily behavioral modifications.
Marjorie eventually arrived and they were married in Chilliwack by her father Brig. Arthur Cartmell in 1952.
At the age of 23, Marjorie not only graduated from nurse's training but she found the time and had the skill to make her very own wedding dress. She said, "I made my own wedding dress on a Singer treadle sewing machine in a very small room and I still have the dress 65 years later."
Eldon explained, "Back in 1912 two of my great uncles, with the last name of McLane came to Prince George; the one from California was in real estate and the one from North Dakota was a sod buster.
"The McLane brothers lived here before Prince George became a registered city. They are both buried in the Prince George cemetery. The father of the late Dr Jack McKenzie was the executor of the James McLane estate. A portion of the estate went to pay my tuition fees at the University of Washington. What goes round comes round."
Eldon was born in Chico, California in 1923. In 1929, Eldon, his mother, grandparents, aunts and uncles and his younger brother Todd all moved to a ranch in the Cariboo. It was during the Great Depression and times were not easy, however the family was strong and their faith in God carried them through it all.
Eldon was a home schooled high school graduate, a cowboy and a rancher.
In the 1940s, Eldon left the family ranch to join the air force and became an RCAF bomber pilot. After the war, he returned to ranching with his brother Todd only to discover medical needs that his rural life was lacking. At the age of 25 and with a hunger for knowledge and a profession, he headed to Seattle Pacific College to begin his studies. He graduated from the University of Washington Medical School in 1952 and spent his internship and residency years at Vancouver General and Shaughnessy hospitals in Vancouver.
After completing his medical training, Eldon embarked on his first stint as a rural doctor. In 1957, he answered a medical calling and accepted a position west of Prince George in the Hazelton area.
Subsequent to his two years in Hazelton at the Wrinch Memorial Hospital, Eldon specialized in obstetrics and gynecology training at the Vancouver General Hospital and his final year as registrar at Marston Green Maternity Hospital in England.
In Eldon's 13th year of studies, Dr. Larry Maxwell, the head surgeon in Prince George, invited him to come to Prince George where he started his own practice at the Prince George Medical Clinic at 575 Quebec St.
Upon his return to North America in 1962, Eldon was the first and for many years the only obstetrician and gynecologist in central B.C. and as the years went by he was referred to as the father of modern obstetrics in northern British Columbia.
It was in Prince George that Eldon and Marjorie raised their children.
Eldon said, "When we first got married we talked about a family; I wanted three children and Marjorie wanted three children so naturally we produced six. Our children are: Gerry (deceased), Vickie (Art) Brown, Barbara (George) Cruwys, Peter (Chris), Robert (deceased) and Stuart (Michelle) who in turn gave us 11 grandchildren and five great grandchildren with one more on the way."
Marjorie was a stay-at-home mom until the youngest child finished high school and then she managed Eldon's office until he retired in 1994.
Over the years, Eldon earned the following degrees: Bachelor of Science, Doctor of Medicine, Fellow of Canadian Surgical Society and Fellow of American Surgical Society. In 2017, he was inducted into The Northern Medical Hall of Fame.
He is a life member of various medical colleges, associations and societies.
He first devoted his retirement years to recreational flying, teaching Sunday school and his interest in fiction and non-fiction writing.
Eldon has written and published seven books. His books include a mixture of archival and personal photos and provide an informative description of the Cariboo region and those who resided within it.
Eldon was presented with the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award in 1998 for his numerous local history publications.
If you are interested in an account of his years in Hazelton, just check out his book published in 1996, entitled A Western Doctor's Odyssey, From Cariboo to Kos.
In addition, Eldon later earned post-graduate credits in Ancient Greek from Regent College at the University of British Columbia. He has been teaching weekly classes in the ancient Greek language at his home.
In conclusion, Eldon and Marjorie both agree, "The years have passed by quickly. We are always busy with family and thankfully most of them are here in Prince George. We are active in St. Giles Presbyterian Church. We can both still drive but we dread the day when we won't be able to have the independence of driving. We have great friends and a truly great family; who could ask for anything more."
