Dr. Tess Trueman was born in Red Deer, Alberta in 1925. After high school graduation she joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corps., and in 1945 became the youngest woman commissioned in the service. She served in many areas of Canada.
After discharge Ms. Trueman enrolled in the University of Alberta. She graduated with a B.Sc. M.D. in 1953 and then went on to seven more years of post-graduate work in Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal. In 1960 she became a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology with a practice in Calgary. She was the first person in her specialty to qualify as an FRCSC in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. As the only fully qualified female doctor in the city, Dr. Trueman was extremely busy. She also taught at the University of Calgary and practiced in the Foothills hospital until the end of 1975 when she retired to Denman Island.
Dr. Trueman worked very hard on community projects on Denman Island. She donated the land and worked on raising money for a very complete Seniors’ center. The building has a large sitting room, office, a gymnasium which converts to a dance hall, with a stage which can be a squash court. When Dr. Trueman left Denman to move to the Shuswap, the Seniors’ Centre was named Tess Trueman Hall. Tess moved to Shuswap Lake Estates in the second phase of her retirement.
She is a contributor to the Shuswap Foundation’s Founders Fund, has her own Tess Trueman Endowment Fund with the Foundation, and was a Director for several years representing the Sorrento area.
