Educator, community activist, philanthropist.
Born at Winnipeg on 14 November 1914, one of three daughters of Ukrainian immigrants Maria Males? (1892-1976) and Theodore Frederick Smigel (1889-1961), she attended the Central Normal School and received BA and BEd degrees from the University of Manitoba.
Her career as a teacher spanned 44 years. She taught at Oakburn School (1933-1936), High Plains School (1938-1939), Fraserwood School (1939-1940), Florence Nightingale School (1941-1945), Norquay School (1945-1951), and Earl Grey School (1951-1955). While at Norquay School, she developed a special curriculum to place children who arrived in the aftermath of the Second World War into the regular stream of school programs. In 1955, she became the first female Principal in Winnipeg of Ukrainian background, serving at Ashland School (1955-1959), Pinkham School (1959-1965), William Whyte School (1965-1973), and Lord Nelson School (1973-1979).
Her contributions to the University of Manitoba included establishing a scholarship at St. Andrew’s College for students to pursue studies in Ukrainian heritage; endowing a research fund in support of the Archives of the Ukrainian Experience; equipping a multimedia room in Archives and Special Collections with the latest electronic communication technology; and establishing an endowment fund to assist the Human Ecology Department’s study of the effects of buckwheat on insulin levels. She contributed to the University of Winnipeg’s water quality and health research on Manitoba’s rivers, lakes, and urban water catchments and surrounding watersheds.
Over the years, she was actively involved in many service organizations. She was a founding member of the Altrusa Club of Winnipeg and she served as the first Canadian Governor of Altrusa International, District 7 (1980-1982). She planned and promoted education and health with projects at the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Holy Family Home, Millennium Library, and other literary foundations. Her donation to the Taras Shevchenko Foundation inaugurated the Kobzar Literary Award that was given for the first time in 2006. After her retirement she had two art exhibitions at Fleet Galleries in Winnipeg.
In recognition of her service, she received an Alpha Omega Alumnae Woman of the Year Award, a City of Winnipeg Community Service Award (1980), and a Centennial Medal (1967) for teaching excellence. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manitoba (2004). Shortly before her passing, she received honorary membership from the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences of Canada.
She died at Winnipeg on 10 February 2008 and was buried in the All Saints Cemetery.
Birth registration [Anna Smigel], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Normal School opens season's gaieties with largely attended dance,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 October 1932, page 8.
Obituary [Theodore Frederick Smigel], Winnipeg Free Press, 3 January 1961, page 20.
Obituary [Mary Smigel], Winnipeg Free Press, 5 March 1976, page 34.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 12 February 2008.
“Manitobans’ legacy a better province,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 January 2009, page B2.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
Winnipeg School Division: Celebrating One Hundred Fifty Years, 1871-2021 by Winnipeg School Division, 2021.
We thank Nathan Kramer and June Dutka for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 19 August 2025
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