Farmer, educator, school inspector.
Born at Hoffnungsfeld, near Winkler, on 17 March 1892, son of Rev. John Warkentin (1859-1948) and Sarah Loewen (1860-1930) and brother of Isaak J. Warkentin and Jacob B. Warkentin, he graduated from Wesley College prior to serving overseas with the Royal Army Ambulance Corps and Royal Garrison Artillery (1915-1918) in the First World War. Returning to Canada he married Frances Maude Allingham (1894-1979) at Broadview, Saskatchewan in 1920. The couple had three children: Sarah Margaret Warkentin (wife of Edgar Hackey), Helen Warkentin (wife of Mr. Stanley) and a son, Flying Officer John Howard Warkentin (1923-1944), who died during the Second World War.
The family settled in Manitoba and he farmed in the Rural Municipality of Roland for a decade before entering the field of education, becoming a teaching Principal at Goose Lake Collegiate Institute (1931-1937). Following this, he was the Assistant Director (1937-1940) of the Manitoba Department of Education (Correspondence Branch) working with educational broadcasts and youth training centre activities before becoming a Manitoba School Inspector, first in an acting capacity (1940-1941) and later formally (1941-1957), based successively at Dauphin and Portage la Prairie. He retired in 1957 and resided at Beausejour, where he briefly came out of retirement to serve as Principal of Beausejour Collegiate (1961-1962). He was a life member of the AF & AM (Ophir Lodge No. 112).
In 1974, he and his wife moved to New Brunswick to be closer to their two daughters. He died at Moncton on 18 August 1984.
Birth registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.
“Radio lectures in school rooms start Thursday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 January 1938, page 5.
“Warkentin named Acting Inspector,” Winnipeg Tribune, 17 October 1940, page 21.
“Bernard Warkentin,” Winnipeg Free Press, 30 July 1941, page 6.
“5 Airmen are casualties,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 May 1944, page 2.
Second World War Service Files, Library and Archives of Canada.
“Beausejour Principal sues Board,” Winnipeg Free Press, 13 July 1961, page 3.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 29 September 1984, page 41.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 20 December 2019
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