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John Edmond Lowry
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Civil servant.
Born at Belfast, Ireland in 1880, he attended the Belfast Model public school, the Municipal Technical Institute, and the Electrical Engineering Institute in London. He worked for the National Telephone office before emigrating to Canada in 1907, being followed two years later by his family. He took charge of the Edmonton (Alberta) municipal telephone system in 1908 and was appointed its General Superintendent in 1915.
In 1921, he was appointed Commissioner of Manitoba Government Telephones (later Manitoba Telephone System), holding the position until his retirement in March 1945. Under his direction, telephone service was extended throughout rural Manitoba. He also helped to found two radio stations in Manitoba: CKY in Winnipeg and CKX in Brandon.
He and wife Mabel Annie Lowry (1882-1940) had four children: Frederick Lowry (c1907-?), Irene Mary Lowry (c1908-1970, wife of Earle Gordon Cruikshank), Harry Lowry (c1909-?), and Stanley Lowry (c1918-?). He was the founding President of the Telephones Curling Club (1924-1925).
He died at Winnipeg on 25 November 1951 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery.
See also:
CKY Winnipeg in the 1920s: Canada’s Only Experiment in Government Monopoly Broadcasting by Mary Vipond
Manitoba History, Number 12, Autumn 1986Historic Sites of Manitoba: Sherbrook Telephone Exchange Building (297 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg)
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Marriage registration [Irene Mary Lowry], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“J. E. Lowry ex-telephone head dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 November 1951, page 4.
Obituary [Irene Cruikshank], Winnipeg Free Press, 25 June 1970, page 34.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Rick Mutton for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 November 2022
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