History of the Surrey Hospice Society

Over the years many people have nurtured the Surrey Hospice Society. In the mid 1980’s Mr. Dennis Boyd, a highly regarded and well-known Psychologist, was working to assist those volunteers from the community who were intent on supporting people in Surrey who were facing the end of life. As the number of volunteers grew, Mr. Boyd encouraged them to form a Society. With the seed for a Hospice Society firmly planted, Anneliese Lomer, Eileen Schmelzle, and Sharon Myhre traveled to Victoria to visit one of the province’s first Hospice Societies. With this visit, the birthing process for the Surrey Hospice Society had truly begun.

In August 1986, Mrs. Beryl Hamilton facilitated the volunteer group through a process that resulted in an application to the government in Victoria for Society status. The persons who signed this application, and became the first directors of the Surrey Hospice Society, were Anneliese Lomer, Sharon Myhre, Marilyn Hall, Ivy Hubbard, and Diane Sharpe.

These first signing directors of the Society then went about recruiting people from religious and community organizations to join the Society’s Board of Directors. At about the same time, a group of medical professionals were striving to establish a Palliative Care Program at Surrey Memorial Hospital. These professionals were well aware of the importance of the volunteer component to a community based integrated Hospice Palliative Care Team. In a short time these two groups, both concerned with the support of those suffering life threatening illnesses and their families, came together to become the Society’s first Board of Directors.

With official status, the work of the Society had just begun. Throughout the balance of the 1980’s and into the 1990’s the Society had a working Board of Directors and much of the action plans were formed around the kitchen tables of the Directors. Since then, the Society’s staff has grown to include an Executive Director, Program Director, Hospice and Bereavement Coordinators, and an Office Program Coordinator.

At the Society’s Annual General Meeting, in the year 2000, it was recognized that a new chapter in the Society’s life was beginning. The members of the Society marked the occasion by bestowing Life Member status on the Society’s Founding Members.

As the Society has grown, many new programs have been developed and the number of trained volunteers has increased significantly. More importantly, the number of clients served by the Society has increased steadily as community awareness of the Society’s services has increased. In the year 2005, the Society’s staff and volunteers provided emotional, spiritual, and practical support for 574 people facing the end of life, as well as support for their family members and friends. One-to-one and group Bereavement support was provided to 520 children, teens, and adults during the same period.

At Surrey Hospice Society, we believe that one of our key roles is to provide well-trained and well-supported companion volunteers for this journey. We invite you to become involved with us as we strive to meet our Mission.