Community activist.
Born at Calgary, Alberta on 1 April 1916, daughter of Barbara and James Blackwood, she moved with her family to Winnipeg in 1924. She received a BA degree in Mathematics from Wesley College (1937), worked for an insurance company, married and had two daughters. After her first husband’s death, she received a degree in Social Work from the University of Manitoba then worked in a child guidance clinic until her second marriage in 1970. She was a member of the Twenty Club, St. Charles Country Club, and St. Luke’s Anglican Church. In the 1970s, she began volunteer work with the University of Manitoba, Health Sciences Centre, and Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. She was the first female chairperson of the Board of Governors at the University of Manitoba. In recognition of her community service, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg (1997) and a Distinguished Service Medal from the University of Manitoba. A few months before her 100th birthday, she received one of the first ten Nellie Awards from the Nellie McClung Foundation. She died at Winnipeg on 2 March 2018. She was selected posthumously as a Manitoba Women Trailblazer.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 10 March 2018.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 February 2021
Memorable Manitobans
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