Educator, elevator agent.
Born in the RM of Whitewater on 3 May 1908, son of John Richard Kirbyson (1876-1954) and Christina May “Tina” Sellers (1881-1949), and brother of Frederick Alvin “Fred” Kirbyson, he attended the Brandon Normal School (1930-1931). He taught at Birchlawn School (1932-1936) and Winnipeg Beach School (1942-1944), and was Secretary-Treasurer of the Fairfax School District (circa 1948).
He interrupted his teaching career to manage grain elevators at Fairfax (c1949) and Cypress River (1949-1951). Returning to teaching at Stockton School (1953-1955), he later served as Principal of Sanford School (1963-1964), Mapleton School (1964-1965), Gunton School (1965-1967), La Riviere School (1967-1969), and Holmfield School (1969-1970).
On 24 December 1932, he married Jean Steele Crawford (1909-1987) at Emerson and they had two sons and two daughters, including Ronald Crawford Kirbyson. The family lived for a time at Crandall (1941) and Hartney (1962).
He died at the Deer Lodge Centre on 3 July 1995 and was buried in the Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens.
Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Big jump is shown Tuesday in Army recruiting figures,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 September 1941, page 5.
“Fairfax Cons. S. D. No. 1195,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 March 1948, page 20.
“Engagements [Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Wellman],” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 December 1962, page 16.
“Selkirk principal keeps mum,” Winnipeg Free Press, 18 May 1965, page 16.
“Selkirk teachers to meet,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 May 1965, page 7.
“Lai - Kirbyson,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 July 1957, page 22.
Winnipeg estate file PR95-01-37474, William Kirbyson, Archives of Manitoba.
Obituary [Jean Steele Kirbyson], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 December 1987, page 22.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 6 August 1995, page B5.
We thank Jillian Kirbyson for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 5 November 2023
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.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
