Educator.
Born in the Brandon Hills in the Rural Municipality of Cornwallis on 17 May 1913, daughter of Elizabeth Sarah Lily Wayland (1887-1962) and Thomas Holmes Edleston Prowse (1871-1955), and niece of George Robert Farrar Prowse, she attended Brandon Hills School and teacher training, and became a schoolteacher.
She taught at Northfield School (1938-1939) and was Principal of Carroll School (1942-1943) prior to joining the teaching staff of the Winnipeg School District, working within the classrooms of Sir Sam Steele School (1943-1945) and Lord Selkirk School (1945-1948, 1949-1953). She undertook a one school year abroad (1948-1949) as an exchange teacher in South Africa.
On 5 July 1952, she married Archie Spence Mainland (1906-1996) at St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church in Brandon. They lived in Elmwood at 475 Nairn Avenue and later moved to 1142 McCalman Avenue and she had a son, Allister Mainland. She was a member of St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church (1952-1973) and St. Saviour’s Anglican Church (1973-2018).
She died at Winnipeg on 21 February 2018 and was buried at McDonald Hills Cemetery in Saskatchewan.
Birth registrations [Eileen Ruth Prowse], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Teachers get scholarships,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 June 1938, page 20.
“Vanguard of teachers here on overseas exchange plan,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 August 1948, page 12.
“District News: Brandon Hills [Visitors at the tome of Mr. and Mrs. T. Prowse ...],” Brandon Sun, 18 October 1949, page 6.
“District news: Carroll [Rev and Mrs. Wm. Bill ...],” Brandon Sun, 9 September 1950, page 8.
“Brandon is scene of Mainland - Prowse wedding,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 July 1952, page 12.
Births [Allister Spence Mainland], Brandon Sun, 29 April 1954, page 15.
Obituary [Sarah Elizabeth Prowse], Winnipeg Tribune, 20 March 1962, page 1.
Obituary [Daniel Woodley Prowse], Brandon Sun, 14 July 1969, page 19.
“Letters to The Editor [My uncle, the late G. R. Prowse ...],” Russell Banner, 27 january 1977, page 2.
Obituary [Archie Spence Mainland], Winnipeg Free Press, 5 January 1995, page C6.
Winnipeg estate files (ATG 0025A), PR96-01-39726 Archie Spence Mainland, GR13143, Archives of Manitoba.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 3 March 2018.
Winnipeg estate files (ATG 0025A), PR18-01-12017 Eileen Ruth Mainland, Archives of Manitoba.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
Brandon Hills Cemetery burial transcriptions, FindAGrave.
McDonald Hills Cemetery burial transcriptions, FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 7 October 2026
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