Donor Stories 
Nurturing Future Generations through Education
Margaret Inglis: Nurse, Friend, Philanthropist
For a young nurse to join the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitations Administration (UNRRA) during WWII and go to Europe to help victims of war required strength of character, a compelling desire to help and a global mindset. Such qualities describe University of Saskatchewan’s valued donor, Margaret Inglis.
With only four years of practice after earning her RN designation from the University of Toronto, she set sail in 1943 with a mission to give hope to victims of war. It was an experience that she wasn’t able to talk about with friends for many years; however it also shaped her life profoundly.
Upon returning to Canada, Margaret earned two post-graduate diplomas and continued to march into a lifelong career in nursing, the profession of which she was especially proud. She joined the Victoria Order of Nurses in 1962 and spent many years with the organization.
Close friend, colleague and executor, Shirley LeClaire, remembers Margaret as “an exceedingly competent nurse and by nature, a caregiver who was always looking for ways to support people so that they could retain dignity”. In addition to her great compassion and a strong sense of responsibility, Margaret “was a lot of fun and our office was frequently filled with peals of laughter when she visited”.
Philanthropy was a private experience for Margaret and she made many donations anonymously in her life. Through her estate she gave generously. In 2005 the University of Saskatchewan was tremendously grateful to receive in excess of $1.2 million from a bequest and life insurance plan which Margaret had directed to areas at the university including: cancer research, a master’s scholarship in cancer research and a graduate bursary in nursing.
The current holder of the Margaret Inglis Graduate Bursary in Nursing is Saskatchewan’s own Dr. Kelly Penz. “Pursuing a PhD involved a significant financial commitment. Receiving the Bursary definitely made my life easier and allowed me to focus exclusively on completing my dissertation, Harmonizing Hope: A Grounded Theory Study of the Hope Experience of Registered Nurses who Provide Palliative Care in Community Settings.” The long-term goal of her research is to “ultimately improve the care of palliative patients and their families”. Kelly has now secured a faculty position in the Nursing Education program of Saskatchewan at SIAST Wascana campus. Through educating new nurses Kelly will continue on with the legacy Margaret created – caretaking and providing hope and comfort, in life and in death.
