Memorable Manitobans: Gordon Thomas MacDonell (1908-2004)

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Gordon Thomas MacDonell
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Educator.

Born at Winnipeg on 2 January 1908, he attended Luxton School and St. John’s High School then received a BA degree from the University of Manitoba. After spending a year (1927-1928) in the Faculty of Education, he served a year as Principal of the school at Lundar (1928-1929). He joined the teaching staff of the Winnipeg School Board in 1929, spending six years teaching at General Wolfe School then seven years at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate. In 1942, he enlisted in the Canadian Army, spending to years stationed in Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia. He went overseas in 1944 and served in Holland and Germany. Near the end of his military service, he lectured and was assistant to the Dean of Khaki College in England.

After his military discharge, he returned for a few months to Daniel McIntyre Collegiate before being appointed teaching Principal of George V School (1946-1952). In 1952, he became Assistant Principal at the Technical Vocational High School, the same year that he earned a BEd degree from the University of Manitoba. He joined the administrative staff of the division in 1953 and served as Assistant Superintendent until retirement in 1972. Active in the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, he was a founding member of the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents.

Married with three children, his hobbies included carpentry and gardening. He was a member of Crescent Fort Rouge United Church. He was a founding member of the Citizenship Council of Manitoba and the Red River Co-op, and a member of the United Nations Association, Funeral Planning and Memorial Society, Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties, Manitoba Historical Society, and Canadian Institute for International Affairs.

He died at Winnipeg on 17 May 2004.

Sources:

“New executive appointments for city schools,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 May 1946, page 3.

Winnipeg School Days, 1871-1950 by W. G. Pearce. [University of Manitoba Libraries]

“G. T. MacDonell gets school post,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 June 1953.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 20 May 2004, page 28.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 12 June 2022

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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