Mary Winspear
Born in 1901 in Birmingham, England, Mary Willan Winspear's life spanned almost a complete century!
In 1910, the family joined many new émigrés and boarded the "Empress of Britain" and sailed to Canada, settling for a short period of time in Calgary, Alberta. They soon moved to Namaka, a small railroad town 40 miles east, that no longer exists on maps today. Mary grew up in a family of five children with very strong ties to the Anglican Church and a belief in the value of an education. She was schooled in Namaka's one-room, red-framed schoolhouse. All of the siblings excelled in their chosen vocation and Mary followed in her mother's footsteps and chose education. After graduating from grade 12, Mary went on to teach in that same schoolhouse. One of her students was her younger sister.
Looking to broaden her education and work experience, in 1927 she convinced her sister to go east with her to St. Hilda's College at the University of Toronto. Together they had saved $1500 for the adventure. Mary completed her undergraduate degree in 1930 and then continued on at the same university, earning both her MA in English (1931) and PhD in Philosophy (1942). She became Dean of Women at both the University of Alberta and Queen's University and lectured in English at the Universities of Alberta, McGill, Concordia and Queen's.
When the veterans returned from World War II teaching opportunities for women in universities took a drastic downturn. It was at this stage, in 1946, that Mary bought "a respected but somewhat run down schoolhouse," as her sister described it, in the Westmount area of Montreal, Quebec. She spent 25 years there as headmistress and owner of what was called Weston School, a private school for girls. Her time as headmistress and was marked by two main characteristics. She was an outstanding educator. She pioneered, for example, the concept of teaching classes in both French and English, whichever was the more appropriate language for that subject, so that her students became bilingual. Also, she had exceptional interest in and empathy for her students and for this she was much loved and respected. Weston School closed its doors after operating for 90 years in June of 2007.
Mary had spent many of her summers visiting her younger brother Francis at his summer house in North Saanich, British Columbia and upon her retirement, she moved to the neighbouring small town of Sidney, settling into the community. She continued to live an independent and active life, keeping an active mind as an avid reader and as a keen and regular bridge player. She took an interest in her community and its constituents and enjoyed the arts, the love of learning and, of course, the seascape so abundant in this area.
Mary never married but she remained a favourite aunt to three generations of nieces and nephews. The Winspear family who are now dispersed throughout continental North America continue to celebrate her life and legacy by assisting the Sanscha Community Cultural Centre Foundation's Honouring the Past - Building For the Future Campaign. The beautiful new community cultural centre built by the foundation is named in her honour and is called the Mary Winspear Centre.