By Daria Nowaczek and Karla Wilson
"I've always wanted to die with my boots on, so to speak, and that is my intention. I look at every day as being an adventure, and I look forward to every day because of that." – Rosalind MacPhee
Rosalind's work as a paramedic and unit chief influenced many, and her leadership extended beyond the technical and operational aspects of paramedicine; she brought humanity to the forefront, connecting emotionally with patients and her team.
Rosalind was ahead of her time when it came to helping colleagues de-brief after particularly stressful or impactful calls — and even pursued further education to ensure she was equipped to handle this important role.
Rosalind's career was decorated with many accolades, including being named to the Order of British Columbia in recognition of her community leadership and literary contributions. But beyond the awards and accolades, Rosalind is remembered as an excellent mother, mentor, and friend.
Rosalind MacPhee was born on Jan 29, 1946, in Summerland, B.C. In her twenties, she moved into the small community of Lions Bay, just north of Vancouver.
Rosalind was drawn to the world of emergency medical services in the mid-1980s, an era when paramedicine was still developing into the professional and organized field it is today.
"She went into it thinking she'd earn a few extra dollars, and she ended up loving the ever-changing challenge of it," says Rosalind's daughter, Katherine MacPhee. "She was very good at helping people. People came to her for advice and support. The job allowed her to use her brain, and I think she liked the adrenaline aspect of it. She said it was the best job she ever had."
Rosalind MacPhee on the Sea to Sky Highway in 1992
Katherine says her mother was also always driven by helping others.
"She had a strong sense of civic duty," Katherine says. "Lions Bay was a young community. Anybody with leadership skills kind of needed to step up or things wouldn't happen."
Within a few years of entering paramedicine, Rosalind became unit chief for the Lions Bay ambulance station.
Rosalind's leadership was not based on authority or command, but on empathy, patience, and a commitment to developing those around her. She believed in nurturing her team, guiding them not just in the technical aspects of the job, but in the emotional intelligence necessary for success in such a demanding field.
Darcy Wilson, now the Executive Director for 911 services across British Columbia, worked alongside Rosalind in the early years of his paramedic career. He calls Rosalind the best mentor he ever had.
"I remember a time with Rosalind where I made a significant mistake, and she had to take me behind the woodshed and give me some guidance," Darcy recalls. "She was able to resonate with me – you know – on how I had to change my behaviour and how I had to grow."
"She was wonderful," he continues. "I remember it was all those wrap-around things that she did. She provided support, guidance, and maturity. Her mentorship was second to none."
"Roz seemed to have a natural compassion for those around her. She had a very positive influence on people. She had the ability to encourage others in an easy and non-judgmental way," said the late Brian Croston, Rosalind's former colleague at the Lions Bay station, in the eulogy for Rosalind he delivered in 1996. "When you were working with Roz you felt more secure in your job, knowing you had a partner that would always have your back."
"She did have these natural leadership qualities. She was grounded and patient. She just took to that kind of role naturally," her daughter Katherine says.
In a profession that often deals with life-or-death situations, where stress and trauma are the norm, Rosalind understood that the human side of paramedicine was just as important as the technical side.
"I remember whenever we had our Christmas dinners, we always had the crew that was working come up if they weren't on a call," Katherine says. "These people were really important to her, and she wanted them to feel included."
Darcy Wilson noted that he always had a standing invitation to be welcomed into Rosalind's home.
"There wasn't church and state with Rosalind, her family, her home and her ambulance station," he recalls.
Rosalind's impact on those she mentored was profound, and her guidance shaped not only their careers but their lives. Many of the paramedics who worked with her went on to become leaders in the field.
"I'm sitting in my job now as executive director of 911 services in the province, directly related to her mentorship," Darcy Wilson says.
For Katherine, who grew up watching her mother's work and followed in her footsteps for a short time as a paramedic, Rosalind's mentorship was a constant source of strength and inspiration.
"It was quite a privilege to be able to work alongside your parent that way, in light of later losing her, and to have that experience of seeing her close up in her work environment," Katherine says.
When Jennie Helmer, the current Chief Operations Officer for BCEHS, entered the field of paramedicine, Rosalind was her first unit chief and took Jennie under her wing.
"I was hired into the service and had an amazing mentor in Rosalind and in Unit Chief Gayle Lyttle," Jennie recalls. "There were almost no female unit chiefs at the time, and yet I had access to two brilliant female leaders – and their focus was on ensuring that all new paramedics had the training they needed, understood the job, and had a place to go that was comfortable to debrief after bad calls."
"[Rosalind] was a UC who took her time with all new employees for training and orientation," Jennie continues. "There was that spirit of: 'You're coming into a new organization and we're going to take care of you.' I had a fortunate entry into the system."
Beyond her work in emergency services, Rosalind was a woman of many interests and talents. She was a poet and an author, with a deep love for the written word. Her creativity found expression through poetry, writing, and even in her adventurous spirit—whether riding a motorcycle up the Sea to Sky Highway or kayaking in Howe Sound.
Darcy fondly remembers her as someone who lived life on her own terms.
"She was one of the most unique people I've ever known," he says with a smile. "She used to smoke a pipe. She was a poet. She was an author. She rode a motorcycle up and down the Sea to Sky highway. She was the most comfortable person in her own skin, and she had an impact. You don't get many people in your life that have that much impact."
Katherine says Rosalind was also a wonderful mother to her and her younger sister Jenny, who now volunteers for Search and Rescue in Squamish.
"She was protective and loving and supportive and firm, but could be flexible, too. One of the good things about her, with having daughters, was she had other pursuits other than mothering," Katherine says. "I always remember the sound of the typewriter when I was going to bed. When I was 13 and Jenny was around 10, she went to work being a paramedic. But she was always there when it mattered."
In 1991, Rosalind was diagnosed with cancer, a diagnosis that would change her life and the lives of those around her. Rosalind's strength and resilience during her battle with cancer became a profound part of her legacy.
"She really threw herself at the project of raising awareness about breast cancer by writing Picasso's Women: A Breast Cancer Story (1994) and doing a lot of publicity at a time when there was a little research on the prevalent health issue," her daughter Katherine says. "She did it for me, my sister and other women, including paramedics."
The province bestows the Order of British Columbia to those who have demonstrated exceptional service and excellence in fields that have positively impacted the people of British Columbia and beyond.
Rosalind's commitment to community leadership, demonstrated through her work as a paramedic and her literary contributions to the early public conversation on breast cancer awareness, made her the ideal nominee.
In 1996, Rosalind was named as a recipient of the award but passed away just a few days later.
Rosalind MacPhee's influence continues to shape the lives of those she mentored and the field of paramedicine.
"She was a wonderful paramedic because she brought humanity to us," Darcy Wilson says. "She brought greatness out of us — and that's what Rosalind did for everybody."
Rosalind MacPhee's legacy is not just in the work she did, but in the lives she changed and the many paramedics she helped to grow. Her humanity, her leadership, and her compassion continue to resonate in the leaders and generations that came after her.
Rosalind often expressed gratitude for the life she was living. She took on life's highs and lows with a sense of adventure and a profound sense of purpose. Katherine noted that her mom "always lived fully engaged with life."
Rosalind embodied self-awareness, and her deep contentment in the nature and community of Lions Bay was ever-present. Her dedication to community, paramedicine and to the people she has inspired may be best summarized by the articles placed at her bedside just weeks before she passed away: her Lions Bay Citizen of Distinction award, and a 1990 photograph of herself and the Lion's Bay ambulance crew, taken at the opening of their new ambulance station.
In a
video interview from 1995, Rosalind shared a poignant story from when she first received her diagnosis. A colleague offered her the gift of a lifetime—two plane tickets to anywhere in the world. This generous gesture prompted deep reflection for Rosalind, as she realized she didn't want to be anywhere else but right where she was:
"…I suddenly realized I did not want to go anywhere, I want to continue my work as a paramedic, I want to continue writing, be with my family and friends, live in the place that I live, I thought, what an incredibly lucky person I am to be given that kind of a gift and to find out that the real gift was that I didn't want to go anywhere." - Rosalind MacPhee
