A Legacy of Care: Honouring Ivan de Souza
Published: December 8, 2025
When Ivan de Souza’s wife, Anna Maria, was diagnosed with cancer, they discovered both great kindness and challenges. Even with skilled clinicians by their side, they saw how easily families could feel overwhelmed, how uneven care could be from place to place, and how nurses weren’t given the support they needed.
In 2008, Ivan championed the creation of opportunities to better support oncology nursing. This effort led to the development of a five-year grant in partnership with UHN and Cancer Care Ontario, which secured $15 million in funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Dr. Mary Jane Esplen was recruited to establish the “de Souza Institute”, an education centre dedicated to elevating cancer and palliative care. Together, they advocated tirelessly to ensure that front-line clinicians receive the necessary educational support needed for optimal oncology care and to secure the Institute’s sustainability beyond its initial grant period.
“After his late wife, Anna Maria de Souza died from cancer in 2007, Ivan became very focused on supporting front-line health providers to deliver high-quality oncology care. Through his advocacy for the creation of and funding for the de Souza Institute, he became keenly aware of what competencies are required to achieve excellence in care across the cancer journey. This included high-quality palliative care.” – Mary Jane Esplen, PhD (RN, Professor, University of Toronto; Inaugural Executive Director, de Souza Institute)
Today, the Institute has supported more than 25,000 health-care learners through advanced training in symptom management, psychosocial care, communication, ethics, and the full spectrum of the cancer and palliative journey. It has grown beyond nursing care and now supports all health care providers across Canada.
Ivan’s commitment to easing the journey for patients and families was recognized nationally when he received the Meritorious Service Medal, one of Canada’s highest civilian distinctions. The honour celebrates individuals whose outstanding contributions have had a meaningful, lasting impact on the lives of others.
Philanthropy was woven into Ivan and Anna Maria’s lives long before the Institute. Anna Maria founded the Brazilian Carnival Ball, Toronto’s iconic gala event that raised more than $60 million for hospitals, psychosocial oncology, and community health organizations—including the de Souza Institute Foundation.
Coming Full Circle at Dorothy Ley Hospice
After his own long journey managing heart disease, Ivan received end-of-life care at Dorothy Ley Hospice in October. In a profound and tender full-circle moment, he received the very kind of compassionate, specialized care he had helped make possible through the de Souza Institute.
Two of the Dorothy Ley Hospice nurses supporting Ivan, Marlisa and Sarah, were trained through the Institute.
Both Marlisa and Sarah shared how the Institute shaped their nursing practice. They found the program remarkably comprehensive, teaching them the full spectrum of a patient’s journey from the moment of diagnosis through end-of-life. The Institute equipped them with deep clinical knowledge, including physiology, symptom and pain management, psychosocial care, and the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families.
They shared that traditional nursing programs often don’t provide such a holistic view of palliative care, but de Souza did: it strengthened their assessment skills, expanded their understanding of ethical and emotional complexities, and showed them how to support a person’s mind, body, and soul. Their training helped them learn how to advocate, communicate compassionately, and enhance the well-being of both patients and families.
“Ivan was delighted to have the opportunity to receive care from Dorothy Ley Hospice and to interact with the very nurses who received education from the de Souza Institute. Ivan received the highest bar of palliative care possible at Dorothy Ley, and through all who interacted with him, from volunteers to nurses, administrative staff, and the lovely Threshold choir at his bedside. It was beyond what I had hoped for. I’m deeply grateful to the Dorothy Ley team.” – Mary Jane Esplen
A Legacy That Lives On
Ivan passed away peacefully at Dorothy Ley Hospice in October 2025, surrounded by the compassion he believed in so deeply and the quality of care he envisioned for others.
Ivan’s legacy continues through every de Souza–trained nurse and every patient and family who benefits from the stronger, more compassionate system he helped build, and in the hospice community where he spent his final days.
Learn more about the de Souza Institute on their website: https://www.desouzainstitute.com/