Marion McKinnon Crook received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Seattle University (although a Canadian from the Fraser Valley) and worked as a public health nurse in the Cariboo until 1986 and in the Fraser Valley until 1989. Those were the days of treacherous roads, severe and dangerous weather and wide-spread populations. Her original nursing district encompassed 3,600 square miles. During her nursing career in the Cariboo, she wrote and published with trade publishers: ten novels for young adult and middle grade readers. She also researched, wrote and published non-fiction around teen problems such as suicide, eating disorders and adoption.

Her memoirs Always on Call: Adventures in Nursing, Ranching and Rural living and Always Pack a Candle: A Nurse in the Cariboo-Chilcotin have proven to be popular reads. She is presently working on a biography, Bloomsbury to Barkerville: The Life of Miss Florence Wilson.

Marion presented at the British Columbia Historical Federation's annual conference in Williams Lake, May 3, 2025.

Watch the full video here.