‘I enjoyed my life as a nursing student’

Our Golden Grads are alumni who graduated from the University of Saskatchewan 50 years ago. This year, in 2024, we are celebrating the class of 1974. 

University of Saskatchewan (USask) graduate Jo Bannatyne-Cugnet (BSN’74) still remembers the feeling of pride she had during the university’s Spring Convocation in 1974, when she was handed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree by former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, a fellow USask graduate.

It was a momentous day. Bannatyne-Cugnet was the first person in her immediate family to earn a degree and, after four years of post-secondary studies, she was ready to begin her career as a registered nurse in Saskatchewan.

Now, five decades later, Bannatyne-Cugnet continues to feel gratitude for the formative years she spent at USask’s College of Nursing as a young undergraduate student.

“I think what I find personally interesting is that in the passage of these 50 years, I can still remember the names of all my nursing professors and instructors,” she said. “It makes me realize those women had (such) an enduring influence that I can remember each one of them to this day.”  

In the years following her Convocation ceremony, Bannatyne-Cugnet moved to Weyburn, Sask., married Ken Cugnet, raised four children, worked as a public health nurse, and became a farmer, entrepreneur, celebrated author, philanthropist, and Saskatchewan Order of Merit recipient.

Throughout her busy and impactful life, Bannatyne-Cugnet has continued to value her USask education and the doors it helped open for her. To express her gratitude, as part of the Be What the World Needs campaign, she recently gifted $100,000 to USask to support student scholarships in the College of Nursing. The generous gift honours the legacy of the outstanding educators who taught Bannatyne-Cugnet and her fellow nursing students from 1970 to 1974. 

“I truly appreciated those wonderful professors and instructors for passing along their knowledge, for their guidance, and for their support during my years attending,” she said. 

“Donating the funds to establish a scholarship to help future graduates continue on in their education, so they will prepare the future generations of nursing graduates, seemed like a good investment in people and our province. Perhaps other Golden Grads might also be inspired to donate to the university as an expression of gratitude.”

Jo Bannatyne-Cugnet was born Elizabeth Jo-Anne Bannatyne in 1951 in Estevan, Sask., where she grew up and attended elementary and high school. After graduation, she set her sights on USask and originally enrolled at the university as a pharmacy student. However, a summer job changed her career path.

“After my first year in pharmacy, I took a summer position at my hometown hospital as a nurse’s aide. I discovered that I loved the workplace and the opportunities and different challenges that were presented by working with diverse patients, each with their unique medical and nursing needs, in a hospital setting,” she said. 

“It was very satisfying to go home each day thinking about how I tried to make each patient’s day better. I profess I carried this attitude throughout my nursing career.”

Banntyne-Cugnet soon transferred to the College of Nursing to align her education with her career goals. One of the many things she enjoyed about being a student in the college was the opportunity to meet other students and faculty members from across the province, from various parts of Canada, and from other countries.

“It certainly exposed me to other cultures and schools of thought and different ways of thinking,” she said. 

Bannatyne-Cugnet also enjoyed taking part in extra-curricular activities at USask. She found that living in residence as a first-year student provided her with many opportunities to try new things and to get to know other people. She recalls sharing meals at Marquis Hall, playing in the University of Saskatchewan Concert Band, trying ballroom dancing, reading and recording text to assist students with visual impairments, competing in hockey games against teams from the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and playing bridge at the Memorial Union Building. 

“I enjoyed my life as a nursing student. Classroom lectures, lab work, studying at the medical library, practicing nursing in the various hospital clinical rotations—each setting provided opportunities to learn,” she said.

“I remember the first time I walked into the Ellis Hall lecture room and laid eyes on over 100 fellow nursing students who were keen to learn. These peers became my friends over the four years we attended college, and we eventually became professional colleagues. When I received my degree, I was absolutely smug about what I learned while attending university. I do hope my fellow students all went on to have satisfying careers and interesting lives.”

In her final year of university, Bannatyne-Cugnet received funding through a government program. As a condition of that bursary, she needed to remain working in the province as a public health nurse for a year post-graduation. She admits she was a little disappointed when she was assigned to work in Weyburn, which was considered “a rival city” to her home community of Estevan. However, Weyburn soon became her new home.

“I told myself it was for one year, and here I am calling Weyburn home 50 years later,” she said.

Bannatyne-Cugnet immersed herself in her career as a rural public health nurse. She was assigned a large area to cover, and she loved getting to know the small rural communities, the schools, and the clients there as she provided prenatal classes, immunization programs, baby clinics, hospital discharge follow-ups, and more.

“A strong public health program is the foundation of a good lifetime health-care program for our citizens,” she said. “Once a public health nurse, always a public health nurse.”

It was during her first year of nursing in Weyburn that Bannatyne-Cugnet met Ken Cugnet, a farmer in the area who also worked in the oil and gas industry. The pair wed and, after becoming a mother, Bannatyne-Cugnet decided to work at Weyburn’s Souris Valley Regional Care Centre in a supervisory position so that she could better balance the needs of her growing family. In total, she served as a nurse for 20 years before embarking on a new career path.

When Jo Bannatyne wed Ken Cugnet, a farmer, she realized she had much to learn about farm life.

“I came to realize that I considered myself educated, with a degree in my hand, yet I knew so little,” she said. “My husband, Kenney, was a patient teacher.”

It was this desire to learn that inspired Bannatyne-Cugnet to write her best-selling children’s book, A Prairie Alphabet. With the arrival of her children, she found that she was often unable to answer their questions about life on the farm, and she wanted to change that.

“This led to me looking for books in my local library to share with the boys—books that would answer our questions,” she said. “The selection was very limited—two books. One was Old MacDonald had a Farm and the other book was How to Plant Corn in Kansas, and this gave birth to the idea I would make a book just for us, about us. It was not my intention to become a writer. I made this book because we needed it.

“Once I made this book, it dawned on me that other children needed this book, too: a book that celebrated the Prairies and our rural lifestyle and acknowledged the contributions of farming families to our economy,” she added.

Bannatyne-Cugnet was a newcomer to writing and to the publishing world, but her book captured the interest of a top Canadian children’s literature publishing house. This led to a partnership and friendship with the illustrator Yvette Moore, who created the artwork for A Prairie Alphabet. Bannatyne-Cugnet recalls the book, which was published in 1992, “seemed to become an unpredicted overnight success.”

“Even our publishers were caught off guard and surprised by how many copies they needed to keep printing to keep up (with) the demand,” she said. “All the accolades, book signings, TV interviews, library and school author visits across North America were far beyond my greatest hope for A Prairie Alphabet. During that period of time, I was fortunate to have six books accepted by two of Canada’s best publishers. I have wonderful memories from that period of my lifetime. I was very fortunate. Amazingly, we were still receiving royalty cheques 25 years-plus later.”  

A Prairie Alphabet has earned many accolades, such as the Christie Book Award. It was also included in the Saskatchewan Legislative Building’s centennial time capsule, which is scheduled to be opened in 2112.

In 2016, Bannatyne-Cugnet was honoured with the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province’s highest honour, for her impact as a retired nurse, an author, a businessperson, a mentor, a community organizer, a fundraiser, and a philanthropist. She was celebrated for playing a key role in raising $3.5 million for the Cugnet Centre—a community, cultural, and convention centre in Weyburn—and for making a generous personal gift to the facility. 

Bannatyne-Cugnet wasn’t comfortable—at first—with the provincial recognition.

“Upon receiving a phone call regarding being nominated for the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, I was exceedingly uncomfortable accepting this honour and expressed that to the caller,” Bannatyne-Cugnet said. “Their response was I would be the first one in their history to (turn it down). I could hear my mother’s voice saying, ‘Just say thank you.’ I took a deep breath and accepted. It was truly a lifetime honour, and I admit I was happy to have my mother present on the occasion. She had to live to be 100 to see it happen. I will mention that when I was in the company of the other recipients at the presentation ceremony it was a humbling, yet proud, moment for me.”

Through the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, Bannatyne-Cugnet was acknowledged for her contributions to numerous community initiatives and organizations; for example, The Weyburn and District Hospital Foundation, the Weyburn Sports Arena, the Therapeutic Animal Park, Grace United Church, the Weyburn Rodeo, Family Place, the University of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Book Awards, and the Saskatchewan Learning Disabilities Association have all benefited from the support of Bannatyne-Cugnet and her late husband, Ken Cugnet.  

“I seem to have had a lifetime of opportunity to be around others who want to make a difference in their communities—the men and women who serve on school boards and church boards and volunteer and give their time to community service clubs and organizations,” Bannatyne-Cugnet said. 

“Each of us have something to give. Is that not the story of Saskatchewan? We each bring what we can to the table. And we take turns doing it. Every day we have opportunities to make someone’s day better.”

In addition to her involvement in the fundraising for Weyburn’s Cugnet Centre, Bannatyne-Cugnet is also proud of her family’s $1-million donation to help fund a pediatric surgical suite at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon as well as their contributions to the new Weyburn General Hospital, which is currently under construction. Bannatyne-Cugnet is also sponsoring a theatre room in a new movie theatre complex in Weyburn.

“My husband and I were very fortunate in our life partnership to experience entrepreneurial success in various businesses, and we came from similar family backgrounds that inspired us to share what we have,” she said. “I guess for me the same motives inspired me to go into the College of Nursing—to be part of making even just one person’s day better.”

Today, Bannatyne-Cugnet is continuing to make a difference in her community and for people across Saskatchewan. As a Golden Grad, she has some sage advice for current USask nursing students and others who are just beginning their academic journeys at the university: “Take every opportunity to learn.”

“It is a special time in your life to have the luxury of learning from so many different people. And don’t be afraid to set off in a different direction than you planned when you started. It is not failure to change course; it certainly led me to many unexpected opportunities and a very blessed life,” she said.

“To the College of Nursing University of Saskatchewan 1970-74 faculty and fellow Golden Grads: thank you. It was a great place to grow up.”

Did you or someone you know graduate in 1974? Visit our Golden Grads website to learn more and register to receive your commemorative parchment and complimentary pin.