About the Sally Letson Foundation

On May 5, 1967, Mrs. Sally Letson, her husband General Letson, her son the Honorable John Nichol, her brother Mr. Norman Lang, and Dr. A.G. Watson incorporated the Sally Letson Foundation.

Mrs. Letson was the driving force behind the organization, and provided an initial donation of $250,000.

Sally Letson was widely recognized in the area for her many generous philanthropic gifts to local charities and devoted many hours obtaining funding for such activities. Her husband, General Harry Letson, had a brilliant military career. He was the first PhD in engineering at the University of London, was a university professor at the University of British Columbia, and served as secretary to Viscount Alexander, Governor-General of Canada.

Both General and Mrs. Letson followed the progress of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Ottawa with deep interest, and were an inspiration to all ophthalmologists in Ottawa, as well as those who attended the annual Sally Letson Symposium.

Sally Letson's wish was to provide an annual symposium in ophthalmology in Ottawa for all ophthalmologists. The Foundation would also support academic excellence in the department. Dr. A.G. Watson was the first executive director of the Foundation, followed by Dr. Brian Leonard who served from 1997 to 2018. Following Dr. Leonard’s retirement, Dr. Kashif Baig was selected for the position.