Two pillars of the community were honoured by the Westlock Continuing Care Centre Sept. 14 as the organization renamed its conference room after longtime physician Dr. Guy Gokiert and his wife Susan.
Surrounded by friends and family, the couple were serenaded with a performance of What A Wonderful World by former colleagues Harriet Rau, Paulette Wentzell and Evelyn Calkins and acknowledged by former Town of Westlock mayor Shirley Morie, who was also manager of the Auxiliary Hospital for 31 years.
“Thank you Susan and Guy for making a difference in the lives of thousands in our community,” said Morie.
The renaming of the room to the Gokiert Conference Room was small gesture for the couple who have been a part of the health care community since 1971.
Dr. Gokiert practiced at the Immaculata Hospital, the Westlock Healthcare Centre and Westlock Continuing Care Centre in both administrative and medical roles.
In addition to his work locally, Dr. Gokiert served as president of the Alberta Medical Association from 1995 to 1996. Though he retired in 2009, he still sits on the Senior’s Advisory Council of Alberta and regularly cooks breakfast for residents at the continuing care centre.
“When I first started they called it general practice because we did everything,” he said. “Then they started calling it family practice because they wanted us to focus on the family, but I continued to focus on the generality of medicine, so we did a little bit of everything.”
Susan worked as an emergency nurse in Montreal before coming to Westlock to work in long term care at Auxiliary Hospital.
Eventually she moved into day support care before taking over as a manager in 2002, overseeing its transition into the continuing care centre and remained in that role until her retirement in 2016.
“There are so many people that are dedicated to healthcare in Westlock,” she said. “So to be chosen to have a room named after us is very much an honour.”
One thing both found a bit overwhelming was the fact they had birthed, treated and watched many of the people honouring them.
Dr. Gokiert said his intimate exposure to people throughout their lives helped strengthen his connection to the community.
“I delivered people, saw their mothers, saw their families as they graduated through life and even as the medical examiner I was able to help them deal with losses,” he said. “It’s been a very interesting part of the career.”
While doing all this and raising three children, both volunteered throughout the community, helping out with the Alberta Learning Disabilities Association and numerous sports and activities throughout the years.
Last week’s honour is not the only milestone for the couple who will also celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, having met in Montreal in 1966 and married in 1968.
“Having this award and dedication and having our children around us when we celebrated our 50th anniversary is just fantastic,” said Dr. Gokiert. “Everything just fell into place.”
Dr. Gokiert said having set goals and a mutual understanding was the a key element of a long and happy marriage.
“She was doing all the driving while I was working with my patients and vise-versa,” he said.
“She tolerated me and I tolerated her and in the end we had dedicated ourselves to our children.”
Susan said they didn’t have any big plans other than enjoying their retirement, their grandchildren and their volunteer work.
Throughout the room and across generations, the impact of their work was on full display.
“We used to play street hockey as kids,” said Town of Westlock mayor Ralph Leriger, who attended the ceremony. “Every day Dr. Gokiert would drive by in this bright green Corvette Stingray. We used to think it was the coolest thing.”
