Memorable Manitobans: William Friesen (1904-1984)

Educator, school inspector.

Born at Altona on 19 March 1904, he was educated in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, graduating in Arts and Education from the University of Manitoba in 1925. He spent the next 13 years teaching in rural schools, then taught at Winkler Collegiate (1941-1944), after which he was Principal at Steinbach Collegiate (1944-1946) and Lowe Farm High School (1946-1949).

In 1949 he was appointed a Manitoba School Inspector based at Eriksdale, replacing William S. Patterson, and was later posted at Stonewall then Winnipeg. From 1951 to 1960, he was an instructor in methods for teaching Social Studies in the Department of Education Summer Schools. He was then a School Inspector in the Winnipeg School Division, retiring in 1970. Since 1946 he devoted his spare time to the study and collection of material on Manitoba history, with special emphasis on the Mennonites. He served as President of the Mentors Club of Winnipeg (1974).

He died at his Winnipeg home on 5 July 1984 and was buried in the Morden Cemetery.

His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

A Mennonite Community in the East Reserve: Its Origin and Growth
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1962-63 Season

Sources:

“Education department makes staff changes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 July 1949, page 6.

“Eight school inspectors take over new districts,” Steinbach Carillon News, 12 August 1949, page 2.

“School inspectors will be honored,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 January 1970, page 16.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 July 1984, page 57.

We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 28 August 2018

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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