Accountant, municipal official, civil servant, historian.
Born at the Rural Municipality of Kildonan on 10 November 1896, the son of John Hugh Gunn and Margaret Sutherland (c1851-1900), he attended the Winnipeg Central Collegiate after which he was employed as an accountant at the North Winnipeg branch of the Old Merchants Bank, where he later held the distinction of being the youngest manager of record. He later returned to the family farm for ten years prior to moving to Reaburn, and homesteading in the Bonnie Doon District.
During his time at Reaburn, he served as a Councillor (1941-1942) of the Rural Municipality of Woodlands and was a School Trustee for 20 years, including Chairman of the Reaburn School District. Around 1939, he joined the provincial civil service and became Supervisor of Titles for the Municipal Affairs Department, holding the position until his retirement, when he moved to St. James.
He was also a historian, author, and a member of the St. James United Church, Association of Assessing Officers of Manitoba, Liberal Party of Manitoba, and Lord Selkirk Oldtimers Association. On 2 June 1917, he married Florence Annie Ruiter (c1895-1919) at Winnipeg and remarried to Laura Katherine McCormick (1902-1995) on 15 December 1926 at Winnipeg. He had six children, three of whom were: Catherine Jean Gunn (1927-1965, wife of James “Jim” Johnston), Sedley Bruce Gunn (1935-1996), and Leslie Keith Gunn (1939-1968).
He died on 13 September 1979 and was buried in Meadowlea Cemetery.
Birth, marriage, and death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Sisters-in-law die same day,” Manitoba Free Press, 3 January 1919, page 5.
Obituary [Leslie Keith Gunn], Winnipeg Free Press, 29 May 1968, page 40.
Footsteps through the Years - Ossowa, Reaburn, Marquette, Meadow Lea, Poplar Heights by the Marquette and District Historical Guild, 1977.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 15 September 1979, page 56.
Along the Mission Trail - Lake Francis, Bonnie Doon, Graysfield, Glennie by The Lake Francis History Book Committee, 1988.
Obituary [Laura Katherine Gunn], Winnipeg Free Press, 27 September 1995, page C8.
Obituary [S. Bruce Gunn], Winnipeg Free Press, 4 Sept 1996, page C7.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 9 October 2020
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