Residents of Sharbot Lake, Ont. rally around ill pharmacist

Jocelyn Whelan and her husband Nick at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy's 25-year anniversary in 2016. (Supplied)

SHARBOT LAKE, ONT. — In the community of Sharbot Lake, Ont., roughly an hour and a half southwest of Ottawa, residents are coming together around their pharmacist of thirty years who has received a grave prognosis.

Jocelyn Whelan opened the local pharmacy in Sharbot Lake in 1991. She has spent the last thirty years caring for the town and its residents. Within the last weeks, Whelan learned she had terminal cancer due to a tumour on her spine.

"They tried to operate, she's lost the use of her legs at this point, but her mind is very much with her," says Wendy Parliament, who has been a loyal customer at the pharmacy for years. "However, the prognosis is that she doesn't have a lot of time left."

Whelan, 61, is now in hospital in Kingston. With her friends and family unable to visit her due to the pandemic, Parliament is organizing a tribute video to express their gratitude to the pharmacist who took care of them for three decades.

"As a community, we wanted to find a way to let her know we love her and thank her for all of her service," Parliament tells CTV News.

"Jocelyn always had time for everyone. She was the kindest, most dedicated health-care worker you could find," says Linda Gaudet, who has spent over a decade as Whelan's co-worker.

Whelan was known throughout Sharbot Lake for her genuine care for everyone who walked into her pharmacy.

"She worked right to the end, and she's worked really hard," says Gaudet. "She's sacrificed her life here for us."

"She has even more bedside manner than doctors, really amazing," remarked Erech Morrison, who has been a customer at Whelan's pharmacy for over 20 years, and turned out Tuesday to send a video message.

"I couldn't believe it," says Central Frontenac mayor Frances Smith. "I spoke to her about two months ago here when I was in to get something and she seemed fine."

Whelan sold her pharmacy on Elizabeth Street in 2017 to retire, but came back to work part time until December 2021, most recently to aid in the vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

"So gentle, so kind, so caring," said Smith with tears in her eyes. "Such as asset to our community, it's very, very sad."