Educator, community activist.
Born at Brandon on 11 March 1930, only child of Lewis Troy Blair (1895-1981) and Alison Margaret Wilson (1895-1972), his early childhood was spent at Alexander where his father and uncle operated a grocery store. In 1936, the family moved to Souris where his father had another grocery store. He attended Souris School and he took piano and organ lessons. They returned to Alexander in November 1947 where he finished grade 11 at Alexander High School. In September 1948, he moved to Winnipeg to attend United College for grade 12. He remained in the city after graduation and worked at several businesses, including Gestetner, Eatons mail order shoe department, Maple Leaf Milling, and a drug store in the Medical Arts Building. In September 1950, he enrolled at Brandon College and was active in extracurricular activities, especially drama. After receiving a BA degree, he enrolled in the Education program to train for a 34-year career as a school teacher.
He spent all but one year in the Brandon School Division and, on his first day of teaching, met a man with whom he spent the next 46 years. He was primarily an English and music teacher. He served as the Principal of Park School (1965-1969) and George Fitton School (1964-1965, 1969-1989). His accomplishments included the introduction of a centralized school library in both schools and the integration of special needs students into regular classrooms wherever possible. He was a member of the Brandon Principals’ Association, President of the Brandon Teachers’ Association, and a member of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. After retirement in 1989, he was a Library Automation Consultant (1989-1993). In June 1990, he was made a Life Member of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society (Brandon).
While living at Brandon, he was active in the Brandon Little Theatre (receiving a Best Actor Award at the Manitoba Drama Festival for One Act Plays in 1963), the Brandon Festival of the Arts, the Eckhardt-Gramatte National Music Competition, and Arm Industries, among others. Following the death of his partner in 2005, he moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where he volunteered for the Saskatoon Airport Authority, assisted with the Saskatoon Health Region’s immunization clinics, was an information clerk for the Festival of Trees and a data entry clerk for the Saskatoon Music Festival, served on the Board of the Saskatoon Jazz Society, and was hospitality coordinator for the Saskatoon Jazz Festival.
He died at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on 2 July 2024 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.
1931 Canada census, Ancestry.
Obituary [Alison Margaret Blair], Winnipeg Free Press, 19 January 1972, page 34.
Obituary [Lewis Troy Blair], Brandon Sun, 3 April 1981, page 19.
Obituary, Memorial Chapel.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 25 June 2025
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