Memorable Manitobans: Walter Roy Bell (1884-1955)

Banker.

Born at Listowel, Ontario on 17 March 1884, son of William D. Bell (1850-1910) and Mary Smith (1841-1923), he was educated at Portage la Prairie. His father had come to Portage la Prairie in 1882 and was associated with Senator Watson in the foundry business.

In 1902, he entered the services of the Bank of Ottawa at Portage la Prairie and transferred to the Northern Crown Bank in 1906. He served as Manager at Pierson and Wolseley (Saskatchewan) before transferring to the Union Bank in 1909, under whose auspices he came to Carman as manager.

On 26 January 1910, he married Annie Salome Stewart (1885-1950) at Winnipeg and they subsequently had two daughters. He was a member of the Carman Hospital Board, Dufferin Agricultural Society, and Masons. He was President of the Carman Board of Trade, manager of the Board of the United Church, and Vice-President and Life Member (1937) of the Manitoba Curling Association.

He died at Souris on 19 April 1955 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.

Sources:

Marriage registration [Walter Ray Bell, Annie Salome Stewart], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

Death registration [Walter Roy Bell], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Obituary, Brandon Daily Sun, 20 April 1955, page 3.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank Rick Mutton for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 30 October 2025

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.

Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:

Custom Search

Browse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Browse deaths occurring in:
1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025


Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca

Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements

Help us keep
history alive!