Community activist.
Born in Poland around 1921, son of Frank Mann (1894-1985) and Bernice Mann (c1897-1978), he came to Canada in 1927 and attended school at Camp Morton and Gimli, later receiving a BA degree from St. Paul’s College. During the Second World War, he served as a Lieutenant with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and received wounds at Deventer, The Netherlands that resulted in paraplegia below the chest. Returning to Canada, he became active in lobbying on behalf of people with physical impairments, as a charter member of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. He was instrumental in founding the Central Western Division of the Association and served as its Executive Director until retirement in 1976. He was also active with the Community Welfare Planning Council of Winnipeg, was a founding member of the Committee on Building Standards for the Handicapped, serving as its Vice-Chairman and Chairman. He was responsible for the amendment of Manitoba building codes to eliminate architectural barriers and amendment to the Elections Act to enable voting by people with physical handicaps. He was involved establishment of the Wheel Chair Sports Club and participated in the organization of the first paraplegic Pan An Games in 1967 that lay the groundwork for the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association. In recognition of his community service, he was inducted into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt (1976) and the Order of Canada (1980), he received the Canada Centennial Medal (1967) and Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), and he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg (1981). He died at Winnipeg on 16 March 1996.
Obituary [Bernice Mann], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 January 1978, page 158.
Obituary [Frank Mann], Winnipeg Free Press, 27 December 1985, page 43.
“Mann saw what could be done, and did it,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 February 1981, page 2.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 20 March 1996, page 31.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 14 June 2022
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