Educator.
Born at Inwood on 19 February 1908, one of five children born to Swedish immigrants Gertrude Halforsen (1882-1971) and John Hjalmer Billson (1876-1950), she taught at McFarlane School (1930s), Rondeau School (?-?), Erinside School (1936-1937), and Westerham School (1937-1938) before teaching in the Lac du Bonnet area. Next, she moved to the Winnipeg area, teaching at Kirkfield Park School (1949-1952) in St. James and within North Kildonan at Princess Elizabeth School (1953-1955), Maple Leaf School (1956-1960, Vice-Principal), and Springfield Heights School (1960-1962).
She married Arthur Strand (c1909-1944) and they had a daughter, Shirley Strand (?-1980, wife of Ken Brown). She died at Selkirk on 27 August 2003.
Birth registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
“Car overturns, farmer killed,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 May 1944, page 4.
Obituary [John Hjalmer Billson], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 July 1950, page 35.
Obituary [Gertrude Billson], Winnipeg Free Press, 8 April 1971, page 25.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 30 August 2003.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 June 2023
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