Dorothy Hall RN, MN, LLD, DSc.

Dr. Dorothy Catherine Hall, RN, MN, LLD, DSc. - In Memoriam
b. 12 August 1924 - † 11 November 2011

It is with much sadness that my closest friend ever has passed away.

When I met Dorothy in 1976 in Copenhagen, it was immediately obvious that this was a lady with a formidable intellect and personality. She could put the fear of God into anyone. Indeed, I think she is the only person who could have given Lady Thatcher a run for her money.

I remember calling Dorothy in 1979, before Mrs Thatcher became Prime Minister. Dorothy was chuckling away and told me she had just heard Mrs Thatcher on the radio making mincemeat of the Prime Minister in the House of Commons.

Dorothy once told me what happened when she was in charge of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Asia and received a string of VIP’s into her office in India. Many had complaints and she got rather fed up with this. One day another visitor came and started a long tirade of complaints. Dorothy listened in silence and when he stopped talking, she said: “You complain about this and that. Now you can arm yourself with a bucket of hot water, a bar of soap and get out on the ward and start scrubbing. Get out of my office.”

Then Dorothy’s secretary came into her office, in a fluster, saying: “Miss Hall you cannot do this.” “Of course I can, he deserved what he got.” “But Miss Hall, he is the senior medical officer of England.” Dorothy and this gentleman later became very good friends.

Dorothy had an interesting life working for the WHO. She has been honoured by the governments of Denmark, Finland, Thailand and Ontario. She was offered the very top job in the WHO but turned it down because she thought she was not sufficiently politically correct. If she had accepted, she would have removed the cobwebs from the corners and left a very slick operation behind.

She was also offered the most prestigious university chair in the United Kingdom. Had she accepted, she would no doubt have become a member of the House of Lords. Dorothy turned this position down because she wanted to go home and look after Auntie Jean, who had brought her up after her mother died at an early age. This indicates more than anything the very human and caring side of Dorothy - the selfless side, the side from which so many of us have benefited.

Dorothy was very fond of children and they liked her. She was very good at telling stories. Have you ever heard her tell the story about how the chipmunks received the stripes down their back? I did suggest that she should write her memoirs. They would have been priceless.

In addition, she was a magnificent cook producing the most fantastic dinners.

Dorothy was born into a very intellectual and educated family. Despite the fact that she was born 20 years before me and in a different continent, it has always surprised me that she and I became such close friends. We had so much in common.

One day when we were both living in Copenhagen we went into a large antiques shop. I picked up a silver soup ladle and mentioned to Dorothy that I liked it. She replied: “I know.” I asked how she could know as I had not said anything before, I picked it up. Then Dorothy replied: “I liked it myself, so I knew you would.”

I shared her love of ballet and on many occasions, we reminisced about an evening we spent watching “The Dying Swan” in Copenhagen.


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I shared her sense of right and wrong, her love of art, music, furniture, food, politics and most other things, but we did disagree slightly on Christianity and euthanasia.

It is obviously a particularly sad day for her family and friends. But for those of us who have – for a shorter or longer period – had the privilege of having known Dorothy, she has enriched our lives enormously.

She once said that I was the son she never had. Dorothy has to all intents and purposes been my “non blood mother”. She is the only person I have ever told my most private thoughts.

When I look at the forest of people I have met in my life, over the canopy, I see five trees much taller than all the others. They are the Sequoia Gigantea. The five trees positively dominate the rest with their greenness and vibrancy. In my opinion, one of these five tall trees were Dorothy C. Hall.

When will I ever have a true friend like this again? Probably not. To me she is irreplaceable.

When the Queen mother died, a poem was read in Westminster Abbey. It began:

You can cry because she has gone
Or you can smile because she has lived

That is my memory of Dorothy.


Knud Blaesberg

I am a retired nurse from Woodstock Hospital. Could anyone tell me if Dorothy ever taught there in 1950-1953? We had a teacher by that name. She had been an outpost nurse prior to that. I am very sorry to read about her death. Thank you.

The Danish Nurses Organization(DNO) send sincere condolences to the family and friends of Dorothy C. Hall. Dorothy was a honorable member of DNO since 1986. Her passionate contributions and commitment to nursing locally and globally exemplified the devotion and sincerity that she possessed. Her initiation of the WHO European Medium Term Program made European nurses realize the need for methods to measure outcome and quality of nursing- the need for research. I will cite Dorothy ”The failure to recognize that nursing is a discrete health disciplin allied to but not dependent on medicine has led to underdevelopment of care as compared to cure and has deprived people sick and well, of a wide range of therapeutic health services.” We will rember Dorothy as a true World Class Leader

I would like to send my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Dorothy C. Hall. I currently have the honour and privilege of being the inaugural holder of the Dorothy C. Hall Chair in Primary Health Care Nursing at McMaster University. Over the last 5 years, I have also had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Hall on a number of occasions. Her passion for nursing was highly evident during each visit and continued over the last year of her life. During my visits or phone conversations with Dr. Hall, she always made it clear how important it is to advocate for and support nursing locally, provincially and globally. It is with great sadness that I will not be able to attend the memorial service, since I will be participating in an inaugural nursing conference on equity and access in Port-au-Prince, Haiti hosted by the Haitian Nursing Association and attended by senior nursing leaders in Haiti, as well as other international participants. During my visit there, in honour of Dr. Hall’s international work, I will be donating a stethoscope - engraved “À la mémoire de Dorothy C. Hall” (In memory of)- along with a blood pressure cuff to the National Nursing School in Port-au-Prince. This school was devastated by the earthquake in Haiti killing more than 100 students and teachers. I know that Dr. Hall would have understood my absence from her memorial in order to attend this critically important and influential meeting for nursing in Haiti. Fondly, Ruta

My sincere condolences to the family of Dorothy Hall. I had the honour of receivng a studentship from the Dorothy C. Hall primary health care nursing Chair with McMaster University and have just successfully completed my PhD in Nursing. It is with the kindnesses and dedication of individuals like Dr. Hall, that the principles of primary health care nursing will caring on. Sincerely, Sandy Isaacs

A sincere thank you to Dorothy Hall, a true nursing leader and visionary. I owe my career as an NP to you....

I shall always remember Dorothy for her wise no-nonsense advice. She was immensely helpful as the primary care nurse practitioner program was designed and implemented in Ontario. A true nurse leader.