Directors of West Coast General Hospital received an unusual request for the return of an oil painting gifted to the hospital during the 1970’s. The request came from a young Ditidaht woman, who said she was the daughter of artist Thomas Joseph Jr. and she had nothing to remember him by.
Dorothy Burn was a very young child when her father died in an accident in 1981. The Thunderbird oil painting he made for the old West Coast General Hospital was painted before her 1977 birth, coincidentally, at West Coast General Hospital.
According to an old newspaper clipping supplied by Burn, Thomas Joseph Jr. was becoming a well-known artist with his paintings going as far as Denmark and Sydney, Australia. He preferred painting eagles and thunderbirds and was quoted as saying, “I think I will be an eagle when I’m reincarnated.”
If anyone remembers the old West Coast General Hospital that stood off of Redford Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, the painting was one of the first things visitors saw as they entered the hospital foyer. It was placed on a wall facing the main entrance.
Burns wrote a heartfelt letter expressing how much she wanted this work by her father. Directors at the hospital and Alberni/Clayoquot Regional Directors agreed that the painting should go back to family, on the condition that a nominal donation of $20 was made to the hospital foundation.
Burn arrived at the hospital with a large delegation from Ditidaht on May 30. She was there to retrieve her painting and hospital directors were there to greet her. The people from Ditidaht, including all the children from the community school, danced into the hospital foyer, leading the way for Burn, and her family members.
This is so meaningful to me that I needed to make a ceremony, said Burn.
It was an emotional day for Burn and she cried when caught a glimpse of the painting. With her husband and mother holding her hand, she approached the hospital directors and told them how special this painting was to her.
“I have a large wall in my house that is blank; I’ve never put anything there,” she shared, adding she wasn’t sure why. “Much like my life, which had a blank space without my father, the blank space on my wall is reserved for something very special.”
“Thank you for allowing me to have this, I will forever be grateful,” she added.
Burn handed over $20 and, with tears in her eyes, accepted the painting, to the cheers and applause of her people.
Burn presented carved paddles to Pam Reardon, Site Director, Alison Sundstrum, Assistant to Reardon, and Marie Duperreault, Alberni/Clayoquot Regional Director. Each also received hugs or handshakes from everyone from Ditidaht.
