Educator, mountaineer.
Born at Tranent, Scotland, the eldest daughter of Rev. Dr. and Mrs. J. D. Fleming, in 1907 she emigrated to Canada with her family and settled at Winnipeg. She attended Machray School, Kelvin High School, and the University of Manitoba, graduating from the latter in 1921 with a gold medal in philosophy. After two years spent teaching at Carman School, she returned to Winnipeg where she spent 40 years teaching at Isaac Brock School and Kelvin High School.
She was introduced to mountain climbing by neighbor Elizabeth Parker and she subsequently used summer holidays from her teaching career to pursue a growing interest in the sport. She joined the Alpine Club of Canada in 1929 and remained a member to her death, 70 years later. She served as editor of the Canadian Alpine Journal from 1942 to 1952, succeeding Alex A. McCoubrey. She was also a member of the Alumni Association of the University of Manitoba, Manitoba Historical Society, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Women’s Canadian Club, Fort Whyte Nature Centre, Manitoba Naturalists Society, and Dugald Costume Museum.
She died at Winnipeg on 5 January 1999. The journals from her mountaineering expeditions were published posthumously in 2004 by the Historical Society of Alberta as Mountain Dairies: The Alpine Adventures of Margaret Fleming 1929-1980.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 9 January 1999, page 46.
“Margaret Fleming (1901-1999)” In: Manitoba Climbers: A Century of Stories from the Birthplace of The Alpine Club of Canada. Winnipeg: Alpine Club of Canada – Manitoba Section, Christine Mazur, Simon Statkewich, and David Relkoff (editors), 2006, p. 197.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 March 2022
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