Memorable Manitobans: James Ogden Turner (1913-1998)

Educator.

Born at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on 11 August 1913, he lived in the village of Central Butte until moving to Winnipeg in 1930 to finish grade 12 at Kelvin High School. He returned to Saskatchewan during the Great Depression where he was active in Boy Scouts.

He attended the Moose Jaw Normal School and, in 1932, began his teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse at Grandview, Saskatchewan. Two years later, he taught at Willmar, Saskatchewan. He then returned to Winnipeg, received a degree from the University of Manitoba and, in 1939, joined the teaching staff of Ravenscourt School. In 1950, he became the first Headmaster of the combined schools of St. John’s and Ravenscourt. He joined the staff of the University of Manitoba in 1955 and was Professor of English when he retired in 1979. He was a founding member of the Manitoba Theatre Centre and was involved in the formalization of the Manitoba Arts Council in 1967. In 1995, he received the Prix Manitoba Award in recognition of his many years of volunteer service.

He died at Winnipeg on 28 February 1998.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 1 March 1998, page 96.

This profile was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Profile revised: 27 September 2011

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