Eileen Dickson, 92, a globe-trotting former army nurse, died of complications from respiratory disease Monday, Jan. 6, in the Swedish Retirement Association home in Evanston. Born in Essex, England, Mrs. Dickson was orphaned as a girl and had to take on much responsibility, including caring for her younger sister. Her compassion for others led her to pursue work as a nurse, and she earned a nursing degree from University College Hospital in London. Mrs. Dickson became a nurse in London’s teaching hospitals. She later found nursing work in South Africa shortly before World War II began. Mrs. Dickson joined the nursing corps of the South African army and met her husband, Alastair Dickson, who was an engineer in the army. After the war, they moved to what is now Namibia and “lived in remarkable simplicity,” said her son Peter. There was no electricity and they had to make their own soap, her son said. Her husband’s work as a miner took the family to remote locations, including Turkey, where Mrs. Dickson was not allowed to practice nursing. “She advised me on how to do stitches on somebody when I was 12 years old,” her son said. “She would always inquire after the welfare of others first. She could not betray her own condition, worries, hurts, illnesses, bumps or bruises.” Mrs. Dickson learned French, Afrikaans, Turkish and German and went back to England in the 1950s. When her husband died in 1992, she moved to Evanston to be closer to her son. She remained active in her retirement community and enjoyed baking, gardening and painting. In addition to her son, Mrs. Dickson is survived by another son, Christopher; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 17, in the Swedish Retirement Association home, 2320 Pioneer Rd., Evanston.
