Mechanic, collector.
Born in St. James on 29 January 1921, only son of Henry Urbane Pearn (1881-1943) and Minnie Sowler (?-?), he was educated in St. James schools then, at the age of 16, he apprenticed at the Winnipeg Flying Club. During the Second World War, he worked with the Commonwealth Air Training Plan at facilities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan then joined the Canadian Army and spent two years in England and Holland.
Following his military discharge, he joined the federal civil service and spent 30 years employed as a mechanic with the Ministry of Transport, retiring in 1976 as Superintendent of Aircraft Maintenance. An avid collector of antique automobiles, in 2004 he donated his extensive collection to the Rural Municipality of Headingley and it became the basis for Jim’s Vintage Garages.
On 26 December 1941, he married Evelyn Florence Cornwell (1921-1955) and they had a son Kenneth James Pearn and two daughters.
He died at the Grace Hospital on 15 November 2014 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Headingley Heritage Centre / Jim’s Vintage Garages (RM of Headingley)
Marriage registration [Henry Urbane Pearn, Minnie Sowler], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Birth registration [James Urbane Pearn], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [James Pearn, Evelyn Florence Cornwell], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Henry Urvane Pearn], Winnipeg Free Press, 21 July 1943, page 2.
Death registrations [Henry Urbane Pearn, Evelyn Florence Pearn], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 18 November 2014.
We thank Frances Kasper for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 7 June 2026
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