Educator.
Born at Yorkshire, England on 18 January 1918 to Clementina Brain (1894-1968) and William Philip Meara (1894-1929), she was an active swimmer in her childhood, an avid reader, and a knitter. Because her father died in 1929 of injuries he had suffered in the First World War, she opted out of a university education to help support her family. While working at a pharmacy, she took night courses in typing and shorthand, skills that she put to good use in government service during the Second World War.
In 1943, she married Royal Canadian Air Force pilot James Douglas Crawford “Doug” Craton (1919-1987) at Yorkshire. In 1946, while her husband remained in hospital recovering from serious war wounds, she came to Canada to begin a new life. She was soon joined by her husband in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1948, the young family moved to Winnipeg, where she was a full-time mother to her four children. At the same time, she took up the game of bridge and became so proficient that she taught the game to many Winnipeggers.
At age 50, she fulfilled a life-long dream and began teaching high school. She became Department Head at Grant Park High School, where she was highly respected by staff and students for her 20 years of dedicated service. At age 65, after again attending night school and while working full time and raising her family, she received her Bachelor of Education from the University of Manitoba. Her exemplary teaching record and fine health compelled her to file a civil rights case against the Winnipeg School Division, which at the time made age 65 the mandatory age for retirement in the Division. Supported by her legal team, she took the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, and in 1985 won the right for teachers to continue teaching past 65. She herself taught until the age of 70.
In retirement she enjoyed swimming, knitting, playing bridge, and wintering at Palm Springs, California. She was appreciated by many for her courage, perseverance, intellect, and generosity.
She died at Winnipeg on 19 June 2009.
Winnipeg School Division No. 1 v. Craton, Supreme Court of Canada cases, 19 September 1985.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 22 June 2009.
“Doreen Maud Meara,” Donaldson Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 15 January 2025
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