The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2009, Síða 10

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 62 #3
Eaton’s delivered twice a day... These and
many more memories cover Shirley’s early
days.
In 1916, her mother, Norma, was the
first woman bank teller in Manitoba (if not
in Canada), a foreshadowing of that
indominatable spirit which Shirley inherit-
ed. Norma often transported thousands of
dollars in cash on the city transit system to
the main branch of the bank. Oh, those
were the days! Her father Fred was a bank
manager who once thwarted a bank rob-
bery single handedly by locking the would
be thieves in the bank vault. He was also
the manager of the world famous Falcons
Hockey team, winner of the first Olympic
gold medal in hockey in 1920. In 2002 it
was Shirley who fought for due recognition
for the Falcons as legitimate owners of the
first gold medal when she pitted herself
against the NHL who mistakenly used the
Toronto team colours of 1924 as the first
gold medal winners. She won.
Shirley attended Daniel McIntyre
Collegiate, graduating in 1939. She went on
to attend Manitoba Commercial College
and worked as a secretary for several years.
Shirley followed her heart’s desire and fos-
tered her musical ambitions receiving her
A.R.C.T. Piano Teacher's diploma in 1962.
She joined the Manitoba Registered Music
Teachers' Association in 1966 and for two
years taught piano classes in the neighbor-
hood school in St James. She then began
teaching in her home studio, retiring some
thirty years later in 1996.
And again from Neil Bardal’s eulogy:
“Shirley was a gifted pianist and shared
that gift with her many students taking part
in festivals, leading church choirs and
encouraging all whose lives she touched
musically to give their best because she
always gave her best. Her smile was infec-
tious, it came right from the heart, she was
the genuine article.”
Shirley threw herself into her profes-
sion as a musician and was president of the
Provincial Manitoba Registered Music
Teacher’s Association for two years, begin-
ning in 1975. She was Secretary of the plan-
ning committee of the 1975 Biennial
Convention of the Canadian Federation of
Music Teachers, in Banff. She acted as
Business Manager of the Canadian
Federation of Music Teacher's Association
magazine for eight years, and was the
M.R.M.T.A. representative on the
C.F.M.T.A. council for four years. She was
also president of the Royal Conservatory
of Toronto Alumni Association, Winnipeg
Chapter, and the former Women's
Committee of the Men's Music Club.
Shirley brought her unwavering sense
of dedication to her faith through her
involvement not only as choir conductor at
St. Stephens Lutheran Church in St. James
for over twenty years but also as a fully
participating member of the worship and
church committees. Shirley was the
Canadian representative on the Inter-
Lutheran Commission on Worship when
that commission worked to produce their
1978 Hymnal and the Lutheran Book of
Worship. She considered this work as one
of the highlights of her life. Included in that
edition of the Hymnal is How Marvelous
God’s Greatness, words by Valdimar
Briem (1848-1930) a beloved, famous poet
in Iceland. She was Secretary and Past-
President of the Women’s Inter-Church
Council, Board member of the Association
of Christian Churches in Manitoba and
held numerous other offices, including
President of the Evangelical Lutheran
Women’s Auxiliary.
Shirley was a member of the Winnipeg
Philharmonic Choir enjoying the cama-
raderie of many of Winnipeg’s finest musi-
cians. She later became the director of the
New Iceland Choir of Winnipeg. She per-
formed for many years at Folklorama at the
Icelandic Pavilion in St. Stephens Lutheran
Church hall and at the Scandinavian Center
on Erin Street. Under the auspices of
Folklorama, she and Iola Nicklas prepared
the informative displays on Iceland pre-
senting them in the schools during the year.
Her spirit at the Scandinavian Pavilion of
Folklorama was legendary and she elicited
the same response from others. Her pres-
ence was always joyful, her enthusiasm
boundless.
In 1993, Shirley was chosen Maid of
the Mountain, Fjallkona of the Icelandic
celebration Islendingadagurin in Gimli,
Manitoba bringing to the role her own