Community activist.
Born at Paisley, Scotland on 1 December 1926 to James and Margaret Delaney, she was two years old when her mother died in childbirth, resulting in her being placed in a convent orphanage at Glasgow. When she was 16 and preparing to join the convent, she was contacted by her older sisters, as well as by her father, who had immigrated to Canada. The family reunited in a joyous celebration at Ottawa, Ontario. As a young woman, she worked at the Canadian Bank Note Company in Ottawa. She came to love Canadian football and the Ottawa Roughriders. In 1953, she married Gordon Charles Umlah (1932-1977) at Toronto and they moved to Winnipeg in 1964.
Soon finding herself a single parent supporting two children, she worked her way up in the Fort Garry Trust Company over the years and became the manager. She was appointed President of the Fort Garry Chamber of Commerce, the first woman to hold the position. Through her work at the trust company, she met John W. Gatschuff, who was President of Canadian Tool and Die. They married in 1975, and she later became Vice President of the company, bringing a wealth of business experience and a sociable personality to the role. Her allegiance in football shifted to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and she was an avid fan. Retaining her pride in in her Scottish and Irish heritage, she enjoyed trips overseas to visit family and reconnect with her past.
She died at Winnipeg on 20 February 2007.
Obituary [Gordon Charles Umlah], Winnipeg Free Press, 7 June 1977, page 31.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 24 February 2007.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 20 September 2024
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