Memorable Manitobans: John Richard Williams (1878-1939)

Building contractor.

Born at Manchester, England on 24 August 1878, he came to Manitoba in 1904 and worked as a general contractor at Winnipeg. He and wife Emily Lane (c1884-?) had three children: Letitia Evelyn “Letty” Williams (1908-1986), John Desternel “Jack” Williams (1912-?), and Edna May Williams (1914-1974, wife of Leonard Leslie Slimon). The family lived at 598 Young Street (circa 1931). He was a member of St. Jude’s Anglican Church and Strathcona Curling Club. He died at the Winnipeg General Hospital on 9 July 1939 and was buried in the St. James Anglican Cemetery.

Some of his construction work in Manitoba included:

Building

Location

Year

Status

Moore's Service Station

260 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg

1931

Demolished (1950s)

Salisbury House Restaurant

254 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg

c1932

 

Sources:

Birth registrations [Letitia Evelyn Williams, John Desternel Williams, Edna May Williams], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1931 Canada census, Ancestry.

Death registration [John Richard Williams], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 10 July 1939, page 4.

Marriage registration [Edna May Williams, Leonard Leslie Slimon], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Death registrations [Edna May Slimon, Letitia Evelyn Williams], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Obituary [Letitia Evelyn Williams], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 February 1986, page 56.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 21 September 2025

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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