Dr. Jillene Iris McEwen was born July 20, 1957, in Vancouver. She is survived by her four loving children: Chris (Ania), Matt, Jenna (Matt) and Ryan (Sadie), and her grandchildren Aria and Caelan; her brother Jim (Eileen) and sister Joanie (Irwin) and many nieces and nephews: Jennifer (Noah), Julianne (Graham), Jeffrey (Lauren), Cory, Ted (Steph), and great nieces and nephews: Rosemary, Faith, Meadow, Nigel, Fawn, Jimmy, Cali, Will, and Quinn.
She enjoyed a wonderful childhood in South Vancouver with loving and dedicated parents, and a loving brother and sister. She worked toward an honours degree in physiology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), then went to medical school at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1982. She interned at North York General Hospital in Toronto, then completed a residency in emergency medicine at Queen's University to become a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
She began practising emergency medicine at Vancouver General Hospital in March 1987. A clinical professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, she served as the director of undergraduate education in the department for more than 25 years, and trained thousands of medical students. She served as assistant dean of undergraduate education for Fraser. She won the CAEP President's Award, and the Canadian Association for Medical Education Award.
She is confident she will meet those she loves in the next phase of life, after leaving this world.