Physician.
Born at Winnipeg on 24 March 1929, daughter of Lena Zelmer (1908-1995) and William Papagiourgiou (1897-1983), she attended Principal Sparling School and Daniel McIntyre Collegiate. In grade eleven, she won a scholarship and entered pre-med at the University of Manitoba. In 1953, at 24 years of age, she graduated as the youngest doctor in her class, which consisted mostly of returning Second World War veterans. After graduation, she became an assistant to Dr. Ben Schomperlin, a chest specialist at the Manitoba Clinic.
While working on the chest ward at Winnipeg General Hospital, she met Dr. Yves Noel Joseph Joubert and, after marrying on 22 June 1957, the couple lived at Dunrea for a short time. In late 1957, they moved to Brandon where they took over the practice of Dr. Baker. In 1958, she was the first woman doctor to be admitted to the Brandon General Hospital medical staff. As the only female physician in Brandon, her obstetrical practice grew rapidly. The scope of the Jouberts’ medical services continued to expand as additional doctors and specialists joined their practice and, in 1964, the group founded the Western Medical Clinic. In the spring of 1967, they moved into a new building in downtown Brandon, where three pharmacists joined the team.
In 1980, she left private practice to become the clinical director of the Assiniboine Centre in Brandon. She was instrumental in implementing a palliative care program as well as a day hospital for handicapped and disabled persons, and a diabetes education program, all the while remaining an active contributor to services at Brandon General and belonging to many committees at that hospital. Throughout her career, she was known for her wisdom and her positive influence on staff relations. As well as being a member of the Manitoba Chapter of the College of Family Physicians, she was a lifetime member of the Canadian Federation of University Women, and was also active in the Brandon community, serving on many boards.
For recreation, she enjoyed music and playing the piano, cross-country skiing, hiking, summers at the cottage at Pelican Lake, travelling with her husband and the families of her three children, and playing bridge.
She and her husband were murdered in their Brandon home on 1 September 2004 and were buried in the Brandon Cemetery.
“Police hunt for son after Brandon couple found slain,” The Globe and Mail, 7 September 2004.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 30 October 2004.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 25 September 2020
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