Memorable Manitobans: William Joseph Parr (1867-1943)

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William Joseph Parr
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Educator, school inspector.

Born at Escott, Ontario on 8 May 1867, he came to Manitoba with his family in 1879, settling on a farm in the area which later became Crystal City.

He attended Wesley College, graduating in 1900, after which he taught at Crystal City School (1896-1897) and was its Principal (1903-1904). In 1904, he was appointed School Inspector for southwestern Manitoba, based at Killarney, where he worked until retirement in 1937. For many years, he served on the Advisory Board of the Manitoba Department of Education, and spent eight years on the Senate for Wesley College.

On 31 August 1904, he married Emily Alma Elizabeth Western (1879-1975) at Killarney. They had three children: William Vernon Redmond Parr (1905-1977, husband of Doreen Reid), Fanny Ivy Parr, and Una Alma Parr (1914-1992, wife of Gordon E. Taylor). He was a member of Young United Church.

He died at his Winnipeg home, 195 Cordova Street, on 10 October 1943 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.

Sources:

1901 and 1911 Canada censes, Automated Genealogy.

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“W. J. Parr dies Sunday, aged 76,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 October 1943, page 2.

Obituary [F. Ivy Shaw], Winnipeg Free Press, 29 December 1966, page 21.

Obituary [William Vernon Parr], Winnipeg Free Press, 2 May 1977, page 30.

Obituary [Una Alma Taylor], Winnipeg Free Press, 15 December 1992, page 29.

We thank Curt Belton, Al Thorleifson, Anne Singbeil, and Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 28 August 2022

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.

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