Martha was such an amazing advocate for seniors/students/colleagues and a wonderful mentor. She seemed to have unlimited energy, can-do –attitude and optimism in the most grounded and practical sense of the word. Her untimely death is a terrible loss for community geriatrics.

As a person, Martha was calm, patient and always willing to share her knowledge. As a professional she was brilliant, caring and inspiring. She made significant inroads into knowledge, competencies, and understanding of older people in general, and older people with mental health and cognitive issues in particular. She has made a deep and lasting impression on me in terms of how to be a leader. She was an amazing colleague and mentor! Condolences to her family and friends.

Martha made a unique contribution to community-facing geriatrics in BC. Her generosity and ability to establish and nourish Community Geriatrics, in the face of political pressures, was singular. I doubt very much that anyone else could have achieved what she did as a leader and an influence-for-good for community-dwelling frail failing older people. She had the capacity to be inclusive and welcoming in her ability to unite people. One could not help but be inspired by her example, and by her preoccupying and abiding concern for the well-being of ailing seniors. She was a true champion, blessed with clear-sightedness and with devotion to others. We will not see her like again.

I always held Martha in the highest regard. Some years ago, when a Special Populations Fund was available upon application, Martha and I were each told that we would get funded if we combined our projects. Over a glass of wine at the Golf Club, we did just that and I learned so much from her during our work together. We ran into each other over the years until I retired from UBC in 2015. I know she will be sorely missed – she was amazing.

The UBC Department of Family Practice Community Geriatrics wishes to honour Dr. Martha Donnelly for her caring, dedication, and humour. Martha Donnelly was a remarkable force for seniors’ advocacy. To her patients, Dr. Donnelly gave the most compassionate care. To her many students, she gave an abundance of her time, personal interest, and an infectious enthusiasm for the art and the science of caring for the elderly. Dr. Donnelly was a path-breaker in advocating for team-based care. She recognized the power of collaboration between physicians, nurses, and other health care providers in building capacity to provide good seniors’ care. Perhaps more importantly, Dr. Donnelly recognized the central role of recipients of care and their families in co-creating “good care” and made a point of including these voices in her teaching presentations. Dr. Martha Donnelly will be greatly missed!

I was privileged to be one of Martha's colleagues on Ward West Two at UBC at the start of our residency in psychiatry in 1980. We bonded immediately and thereafter. I will miss her much, and cannot put into words what she meant me. She embodied a kind of integrity and steadiness that inspires most of us to ask: What do we value? What are we willing to ask of ourselves to strive for it? We love you, Martha. See you when we all must.

Martha was my mentor and a great source of inspiration. Her knowledge in medicine and passion for teaching had a tremendous influence on me and many others. I still find myself in the habit of walking down the hall to her old office looking for advice. She is greatly missed.