Picture: Contributed
The city of Kelowna has lost one of its cultural pioneers.
Ursula Surtees, the Kelowna Centennial Museum’s first curator and champion of cultural diversity, died peacefully on Saturday.
She was 94 years old.
Mayor Colin Basran remembered Surtees at the end of Monday’s city council meeting as a cultural pioneer.
Surtees, her husband John and young daughter Pat moved to the Okanagan in the 1940s from the United Kingdom after World War II and eventually became involved with the local museum.
“She was the first curator of the Kelowna Centennial Museum in 1969 and became a force in the community and on the provincial and national stage. She was an author, designed practical school programs now modeled across the country, developed summer art programs and created a provincial museum out of a former packing plant,” Basran said.
“Ursula successfully championed the restoration of the city’s first designated heritage building, the Laurel Packinghouse. This building now houses the BC Orchard Industry Museum and the BC Wine Museum, and is a showcase for Kelowna’s cultural district.
Over the years, Surtees has received the Order of Merit from the Museum Societies of British Columbia and Canada, the Golden Service Award from the BC Museum Society, the Citizen of the Year Award from the City of Kelowna, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, Confederation Medal and BCMA Life Membership.
“She was an uncompromising champion of respect for the cultural diversity that we hold dear as Canadians.”
Surtees is survived by his daughters Pat and Frances and his son Alan, as well as numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren as well as many other nieces and nephews overseas.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to the Ursula Surtees Endowment Fund with the Central Okanagan Foundation at 306-1726 Dolphin Avenue, Kelowna BC V1Y 9R9 or www.centralokanaganfoundation.org. Interest from this fund helps support the work of the Kelowna Museums Society in the region.
