A Full Life, A Meaningful Legacy
Dr. Carolyn Allan’s journey from a promising young student to her status as a pivotal figure in Langley’s health care is all about commitment: a commitment to community, to high standards and to excellence in care.
Hailing from a Scottish immigrant family, the young Carolyn Allan settled in Langley in 1956, where she and her brother attended high school while their parents ran a local restaurant.
Early on, her teachers at Langley Secondary School recognized her wish to pursue a scientific career. After attending the University of Toronto, she was awarded a bursary, donated by medical staff at Langley Memorial Hospital (LMH).
The early generosity she received as a student planted the seed for her own life as a pioneering anesthetist and the legacy she’s leaving as a regular donor to LMH, her own workplace for decades of her career.
Fulfilling a legacy through monthly giving
Dr. Allan is one of many supporting Langley Memorial Hospital through the Foundation. She recently turned to monthly giving as a way to give consistently. Over the last year, though, she began to craft her Will to continue her legacy of generosity - a public memory of a life well-lived.
“When I’m in conversations and people say, ‘I’m going to donate something to one of the major hospitals in Vancouver’ I reply and ask, ‘If an emergency occurs in Langley or you are very ill-where do you go first?’ Usually the answer is ‘to the local hospital, LMH.’
“But if it is the first place that you will end up if you’re in an accident or have a medical emergency, perhaps you should consider donating locally if you can, because if a larger centre is needed, you will get transferred there once you are stabilized. I always let them know that smaller hospitals need their funds as well.”
Eyewitness to growth at Langley Memorial
After completing her initial studies, Dr. Allan pursued an early interest in pediatrics and worked at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. A burgeoning interest in anesthesiology soon took hold.
Her specialty training complete, she became an anesthetist in 1977 and retired in 2013.
Over her tenure as she recalls, Langley residents witnessed huge changes in the local health care landscape. That inspired her to direct the gifts in her Will toward the Legacy Fund, to help the Foundation fulfill its goal of expanding long-term care residences that improve the quality of life of Langley’s most vulnerable seniors.
After a lifetime of giving during her career, then as a monthly donor and now as a legacy donor, Dr. Allan is the first to recommend philanthropy as a way to mirror one’s own personal values.
“I think all you can do is encourage people to donate to causes that are important to them.”