Kathleen Bell Richardson
Sister, aunt, medical secretary, nature lover, lifetime learner. Born on July 28, 1917, in Broadview, Sask.; died on March 13, 2014, in Toronto, of respiratory failure, aged 96.
Just days after she retired as the founding secretary of McMaster University's medical school, Kay Richardson was severely injured in a car accident. But she fought her way back and emerged from a months-long coma to live for another three decades.
She set an example for all who knew her, teaching us how to live a meaningful life despite handicaps. The accident may have defined her, but never confined her.
While she was in the coma, her sister Dorothy insisted on reading to her each afternoon. One day, Dorothy heard a bit of a chuckle from the body that had seemed so lifeless. From then on, Kay coped with a myriad of challenges. She had to learn how to talk, walk, eat, operate a wheelchair, and adapt to a dramatically different way of living.
Good medical care at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital was followed by years in the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, where Kay was the darling of the staff. Betty Mustard, wife of famed physician and scientist Fraser Mustard, had known Kay at McMaster and came once a week to read to her and other patients, who enjoyed listening in.
For many years, friends with whom Kay shared a love of nature and birding trips managed to take her, wheelchair and all, to Ontario's Point Pelee, bringing back wonderful pre-accident memories and forging new ones.
Eventually, with the help of friends, Kay was able to make the great leap from years in a rehab hospital to life in a retirement home. There she had her own room, plenty of activities in which to participate, and afternoon tea with her large group of friends – so many that they had to "book in" by the day and the hour. And to each one, Kay would say, "You made my day!"
As her friends aged, her horde of visitors dwindled. But Kay continued to immerse herself in tai chi, crossword puzzles, art classes, concerts and religious services. And she was a voracious reader. One staff member said that whenever he saw Kay in her wheelchair reading, he saw an invisible sign that said, "Do not disturb." Devoted caregivers and two adoring nieces supported Kay faithfully in her final 20 years.
Before her fateful accident, Kay led a very interesting life. She had been a brilliant student and today would have easily earned a university scholarship. But like so many who grew up in the Depression and war years, earning a living had to come first. In 1945, she moved on her own to Toronto to find a job. While employed as a medical secretary, she worked toward a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Toronto, one night course at a time.
After graduating in 1952, Kay joined the Canadian Foreign Service. Postings to Israel and Sri Lanka, in administrative positions, allowed her to learn and absorb as much as she could from the foreign settings.
When her overseas adventures ended, Kay worked for the chairman of the Medical Research Council of Canada in Toronto. After he retired in 1965, she was enticed by John Evans, founding dean of medicine at McMaster, to serve as his right-hand assistant. So outstanding was she in this position that in 1999, years after her accident, there was a reception at McMaster to salute Kay – and to name the health faculty's council chamber as the Kay Richardson Room, in her honour as founding secretary.
Jean Fewster is a long-time friend of Kay.