Memorable Manitobans: Ronald Dean Bell (1932-2020)

Lawyer, University Chancellor, judge.

Born near Deloraine on 12 February 1932, son of William Harold Bell (?-1973) and Myrtle Irene Sparrow (1900-1994), he attended Hazeldean School and Falconer Collegiate. He then received a BA degree from Brandon College (1951) and a law degree from the University of Manitoba (1955). After a stint as a tax lawyer for the Department of National Revenue in Ottawa, he moved to Calgary, Alberta where he became a partner in a large law firm. In 1978, he formed the firm of Bell Felesky Flynn. He was appointed a judge in the Tax Court of Canada in 1991. He served as a member of the Brandon University National Alumni Board and the Brandon University Foundation. In 1981, he was presented with the Alumni Distinguished Service Award and he became the University’s Chancellor in 1990, serving until 1996. He was name Chancellor Emeritus (1998), was inducted into the Brandon University Alumni Association Wall of Fame (2002), and received an honorary doctorate (2006). He died on 13 January 2020 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.

Sources:

“Deloraine native new chancellor of BU,” Brandon Sun, 28 September 1990, page 60.

Obituary [Myrtle Irene Bell], Winnipeg Free Press, 8 December 1994, page 49.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 18 January 2020.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 January 2020

Memorable Manitobans

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.

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