Tribute

Dr. Shirley A. Reimer MD. F.R.C.S.C.

Obstetrician and Gynecologist

03 Oct. 1950 – 15 Oct 2021

Shirley Anne Reimer (ne: Dioguardi) slipped away quietly in the early hours of Oct 15^th, after a tragic 12-year struggle, which she faced directly, stoically and with tremendous courage.

She leaves behind her husband, Albert, her children, Caroline Begg-Smith (Jason) in London UK, and grandchildren, Charles, Philip and Louisa, then Michael in Toronto, with grandson, James, and Julia Dugaro (Matt) and grandchildren Stella and Adam.

Shirley was predeceased by her parents Philip and Laura Dioguardi but is survived by her brother Paul (Carmen) Dioguardi of Ottawa.

She also leaves brothers and sisters-In-law Jack Reimer (Dorothy) in Victoria, Dick Reimer (Sharon) in North Battleford, and Jim Reimer (Elaine) in Morgan Hill, California. She also leaves numerous nieces and nephews, in Ontario, BC and California.

But of particular mention were her parents-in-law, Diedrich and Mary Reimer (predeceased) whom she loved as her own, particularly Mary Reimer, for whom she had a strong mutual affection.

It was with her family that Shirley took the most pleasure, and pride. There was a lot of travel with them to fishing lakes, long distance drives, air travel, and sailing. There was always a vivid concern for their health and education. She loved cooking with them and referred to her extensive collection of cookbooks and old family recipes. Her personal ‘pasta nights’ at home were always begun with a small glass of wine and Andrea Bocelli. Guests, socializing in her home, normally never left the kitchen. These gatherings also often involved cooking together, and there was always lots of cheer.

She loved to travel, mostly to Europe, but also South America and Asia, and Israel. In 2003 she spent 3 months in Cefalu in Sicily, taking an Italian language course.

Shirley was born in Ottawa, where she went to St Joseph’s School, then pre-med at the University of Ottawa where she was the silver medalist, and medical school. She then moved to Winnipeg for the 4-year residency in OB/Gyn, and met and married Albert, her husband of more than 45 years. After graduation, she practiced in Winnipeg for a year before moving to Vancouver early in 1981.

It was there that she developed her practice, her professional status, and a loyal following. She provided her patients with maternity care at BC Women’s Hospital, where she was valued by patients and colleagues for her effervescent and dedicated care in the case room. She provided gynaecologic care at Mt. St Joseph’s, and later at St Paul’s Hospital. She also provided leadership in the Surgery program at Mt. St Joseph’s and was the second Head of the Division of General Obstetrics and Gynaecology within the UBC Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Most importantly, she will be remembered within her department as a delightful colleague.

Shirley was always expanding her skills and knowledge – additional courses at Harvard, or traveling to Xian, China to learn more about Chinese traditional medicines, and their interactions with conventional medicines, or London (Hammersmith) for training in microsurgery.

When asked why she chose OB/Gyn with its arduous hours, she would invariably say that it was because it was “happy medicine”.

The family has already received messages from a number of her former resident student with comments such as, “Respectful, collegial, honest, funny, warm, smart, practical, friendly, compassionate, caring, fashionista, devoted to family. She was all that and more.”

The family would like to express thanks to the many physicians who attended Shirley, particularly, Dr Valerie Gruson, Dr. Dean Foti, and Dr. Rossali Pilapil-Lee. We would also like to thank VillaCarital, who remained COVID-free, and especially the care workers in the “Palermo” wing for their gentle and cheerful care.

A Memorial Service/Celebration of Life will be held at Fraserview Church, 11295 Mellis Dr, Richmond, BC V6X 1L8 on Saturday Nov 13^th at 2pm. An opportunity will be made available following, for those wishing to speak about her. The facility is large, with opportunity for reasonable spacing. For those that cannot attend, or those who wish to communicate privately with the family, an email address has been established at sareimer.memorial@outlook.com. A video recording will be made of the service, and then uploaded to an Onedrive account. Anyone requesting the link to that file are asked to send a message to the email address given above.

Publicly viewed comments may be submitted to https://www.wiebeandjeskefh.com/obituaries/. We trust that those in attendance will have been vaccinated and will exercise good judgement.

There are many causes which Shirley would have people directing memorial gifts to, but her greatest concern was maternal care and her greatest love was lifting a newborn for the first time, which she did so very many times, each of which she thought was the most beautiful ever. We request that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made in support of “Maternal Fetal Medicine” at: bcwomensfoundation.org/dr-reimer.

“(I do not know what it is about you that closes

and opens; only something in me understands

the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)

nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands”

E.E. Cummings