This story is part of the Aberdeen Health Foundation’s 40 for 40 anniversary series, marking 40 years of community impact. Over the coming year, we’ll share 40 stories through quotes, photos, programs, and features that highlight the people and partnerships shaping health care in Pictou County. Read the latest story below, and visit our Facebook page to follow along as we celebrate 40 years of care close to home.

 

Learning Is Care: The Williston Family’s Legacy

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Friday, January 23, 2026, …. As the Aberdeen Health Foundation enters its 40th year of supporting health and wellbeing in Pictou County, the anniversary is both a celebration and a chance to look back at how local health services have been strengthened over time, through people who believed deeply in care, learning, and community.

For the Williston family, that belief is rooted in the life and legacy of Dr. Johnnie Miles Williston.

Dr. Williston practiced as a family physician in New Glasgow and worked at the Aberdeen Hospital throughout his career. A Dalhousie University graduate in 1956, he was known not only for his medical practice, but for his belief in prevention, education, and physical fitness.

To his son Royce Williston, that description rings true. “He was very much a health promoter,” Royce says. “On his epitaph, he’s described as a humanitarian, a healer, and a health promoter, and that really captures who he was.”

Education was central to how Dr. Williston approached care. He continued attending conferences and expanding his knowledge throughout his career and was an early advocate for cardiac rehabilitation, leading programs that supported patients in rebuilding their health through movement and education, long before those services were widely available.

After Dr. Williston’s death in December 2005, his wife, Phyllis, and children, Beth, Royce and Lorraine looked for a way to honour what mattered to him. The following year, they established the Dr. Johnnie Miles Williston Education Fund with the Aberdeen Health Foundation.

“We felt that focus on learning was really important,” Royce explains. “And we thought that with so many different needs, if our donation just went into the general fund, continuing education could be overlooked.”

The fund supports the education, training, and development of health care providers across Pictou County. It helps staff access workshops, conferences, seminars, and courses that strengthen patient and community care. While its impact is not always visible, Royce believes it is deeply felt. “There’s nothing you can physically see. There’s no name on a door, or piece of equipment, but it improves how people practice, and that directly improves patient care.”

Royce’s own connection to the Aberdeen Health Foundation began years earlier. In the mid-late 1980s, he served on a fundraising subcommittee during the hospital’s original capital campaign. Drawing on his background in construction, Royce helped bring one of the campaign’s most memorable features to life, a large mechanical display known as Dr. Charlie, which he helped build and install outside the hospital to show fundraising progress. “He was swinging a hammer and ringing a bell as the lights went up the pole. It was a way to show the community how the campaign was moving forward.”

Later, Royce served on the Foundation’s Board, including time on an equipment inventory committee that brought him into the hospital to see how donor-funded equipment was being used. “I was able to talk directly with the people using the equipment and hear their stories. You really see the impact first-hand. You can see how important that support is in helping staff deliver better care, how it’s over and above what would otherwise be there.”

Years later, that same sense of impact came into focus again, this time through the Williston Education Fund. During a luncheon organized by the Foundation in the spring of 2025, health care staff shared how the fund had supported their learning and professional growth. “It was incredibly rewarding to hear those stories in person,” Royce says. “You could really see the benefits that came out of the continuing education fund.”

Royce’s belief in lifelong learning was evident in his own career. He helped establish continuing education programs in the construction industry, supporting people at every stage of their profession. “To get the best out of people, you can’t stop learning. You have to keep working at it, refreshing and upgrading your skills, and keeping up with technology, especially in health care, where things are always advancing and changing.”

The Williston family’s story is a reminder that some of the most lasting investments are made in people. Through learning and a commitment to better care, Dr. Johnnie Miles Williston’s legacy continues to shape health services in Pictou County, one provider and one patient at a time.

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The Aberdeen Health Foundation is the leading charity for enhancing health care in Pictou County. In 2025, the Foundation invested over $3 million to fund medical equipment and enhance health programs at the Aberdeen Hospital and in the community. Your contribution can be the catalyst for even greater change — find out how you can make an impact here.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle Ferris
Executive Director
Aberdeen Health Foundation

902-752-7600 ext. 4442
Michelle.Ferris@nshealth.ca