Memorable Manitobans: Ewart Fitz Munn (1885-1968)

Architect.

Born at England in 1885, one of three sons of Alfred Munn (1850-1937) and Frances Jane Eversfield Munn (1851-1939), on 21 September 1907 he married Nellie Kathleen Munn (1888-1973) at Brighton, England. The couple moved to Winnipeg in 1910, resettling in St. Vital in 1918. They had three children: Desmond Wilfred Munn (1908-2007), Maurice Kenyon Munn (c1917-1989), and Shirley Munn (1918-2008, wife of Robert C. Waddington).

An architect by trade, he was active in the Manitoba Association of Architects serving as its President (1944) and multiple terms as Secretary-Treasurer / Secretary (1919, 1922, 1938-1939, 1950). He worked with W. Percy Over (1926-1940) and William A. Martin (?-?), and was a partner of the firm Smith Munn Carter and Katelnikoff. A significant amount of his work involved schools, especially within his local municipality. Out of province projects included a 1946 expansion to Alexander McKenzie School in Fort Frances, Ontario.

He died at the St. Boniface Hospital on 28 December 1968.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Heaton House	30 West Gate, Winnipeg	1926-1927
St. Boniface Kiwanis Model Bungalow	Lyndale Drive, Winnipeg	1944
River Heights School	1350 Grosvenor Avenue, Winnipeg	1946-1947
Norberry School (expansion)	900 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg	1947
Tilston School	Tilston, Municipality of Two Borders	1947
Woodlawn School District No. 1499 / Woodlawn School (expansion)	1186 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg	1947	Demolished (?)
Woodlawn School District No. 1499 / Woodlawn School (improvements)	1186 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg	1948	Demolished (?)
Henderson School	911 Bond Street, Dauphin	1948
Weston School	1410 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg	1948
Glenlawn Collegiate	770 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg	1950
Marion School	619 Des Meurons Street, Winnipeg	1950
Prince Charles School	Third Street Southwest, Portage la Prairie	1950-1951
Mennonite Brethren Institute (gymnasium and auditorium)	Talbot Avenue, Winnipeg	1959

See also:

Manitoba Business: Smith Carter and Katelnikoff / Smith Carter Architects and Engineers / Architecture49

Sources:

Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Sussex men meet,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 September 1914, page 5.

“The Manitoba Association of Architects Examinations,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 March 1919, page 5.

“Architects elect,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 January 1922, page 15.

“Manitoba Architects elect Edgar Prain,” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 January 1939, page 2.

“Apple blossoms form setting for wedding,” Winnipeg Free Press, 20 May 1941, page 8.

[Photo caption, Mrs. R.C. Waddington], Winnipeg Free Press, 24 December 1941, page 10.

“Tenders wanted [St. Boniface Kiwanis Model Bungalow],” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 May 1944, page 15.

“Three rooms to be added to Fort Frances School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 September 1946, page 15.

“Tenders [Norberry School, six room addition],” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 January 1947, page 16.

“[Tenders - Tilston Consolidated School District],” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 March 1947, page 20.

“School District of Glenlawn No. 1499 [Woodlawn School; expansion],” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 March 1947, page 20.

“School District of Glenlawn No. 1499 [Glenlawn Collegiate; plumbing, heating, ventilation],” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 March 1949, page 34.

“Tenders [School District of Portage la Prairie No. 10, 18-room school and auditorium],” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 June 1949, page 23.

“5 tenders at Portage for school construction,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 June 1949, page 15.

“Portage schools’ money held up [Portage Central School],” Winnipeg Free Press, 13 August 1949, page 14.

“St. Boniface may get new 16-room school [Marion School],” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 September 1949, page 3.

“Trustee rap critic of school buildings,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 October 1949, page 3.

“Architects study model home plans,” Winnipeg Free Press, 24 January 1950, page 4.

“St. Vital couple marks anniversary,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 October 1957, page 18.

“New building at Thompson,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 July 1959, page 26.

“St. Vital couple wed sixty years,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 September 1967, page 18.

St. Boniface estate file #10159, Wilfrid Ewart Munn, Archives of Manitoba.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 1 January 1969, page 30.

Obituary [Nellie Kathleen Munn], Winnipeg Free Press, 8 December 1973, page 41.

Obituary [Maurice Kenyon Munn], Winnipeg Free Press, 15 July 1989, page 39.

Obituary [Desmond Wilfred Munn], Winnipeg Free Press, 15 September 2007.

Obituary [Shirley Waddington], Winnipeg Free Press, 28 May 2008, page 34.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank Robert Hill for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 20 December 2022

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 Search Browse 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 | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 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.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!