Famous Canadian Women On the Job

ISBN: 0-9736246-0-4

Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmonds
US Civil War soldier
née Edmonson. Born December 1841, Magaguadavic, New Brunswick. Died September 4, 1898, La Porte, Texas, U.S.A. As a youth she fled from her family home to escape an abusive father and an unwanted arranged marriage. To avoid detection she cut her hair and wore pants to disguise herself as a man. Her ruse was so successful that she took the name of Franklin (Frank) Thompson and retained her ...err...his identity. After having earned a living as a Bible salesman in 1865 Frank joined the Union Army and was assigned as a nurse with the 2nd Michigan volunteers. Frank volunteered to be a spy for the Union army and with silver nitrate painted skin penetrated the enemy lines as a slave and sometimes a women. Injured after falling off a horse Frank chose to disappear to recover. Once healthy it was discovered Frank was considered a deserter so Sarah Emma Edmonds entered the war as a woman nurse. She would become one of the most famous and recognizable women to fight in the American Civil War. She would write her story in Nurse and Spy in the Union Army published in 1865. In 1867 she married L. H. Seeye, a Canadian mechanic, and eventually settled in La Porte, Texas to raise three children. She eventually sought and won a full army pension for both her identities. In 2004 the History Channel broadcast The Unsexing of Emma Edmonds. In 1992 she was induced into the Michigan Hall of Fame. (2022)

Hilda Patricia Barry née Rawlinson. Born August 21, 1921, Walthamstow, London, England. Died March 12, 2016, Port Credit, Ontario. After her early education Hilda's family could not afford to send her to college so she worked as a waitress and went to night school to learn stenography. She began working for the government and became a decoder during World War ll as part of the Baker Street Irregulars. These decoders were also called the indecipherable. They read garbled messages from agents who used secret codes with errors that supposedly made messages impossible to read. After 1944 she was sent to the Far East to work and met her husband. She married Frank Barry in India in 1945. In 1963 the couple and their two children immigrated to Canada where she worked as an assistant to the headmaster of Lower Canada College, a boys school in Montreal. In 1984 the couple retired and settled in Port Credit, Ontario. Source: Fred Langan, Obituaries, Globe and Mail April 4, 2016. (2022)

Jennifer Bennett Born Hamilton, Ontario. Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, and her Bachelor in Education at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, followed with an Master's Degree in Leadership and Training at Royal Roads University, Victoria, British Columbia. Her father had a long serving career in the Reserves of the Canadian Forces so it was natural for her to enrol in the Naval reserve as a Naval Commander in 1975. In 1977 she transferred to the Naval Reserve Officer and Cadet Program for training as a logistics Officer. In 1979 she was promoted to the level of a Sub-Lieutenant. By 200 after service across Canada she was promoted to the level of Captain (Navy) and became Director of Reserves in National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. In civilian life she had held positions as a teacher and administrator in elementary and secondary schools in Ontario and British Columbia. In 2007 she gained a promotion to Commodore in the reserves. May 31, 2001 Rear Admiral Bennett became the first female Chief Reserves and Cadets. Her position advises the Chief of Defence Staff on Primary Reserves, the Cadets Organization Administration and Training Service as well as the Supplementary Reserve. (2022)

Norda Adelaide Bennett-Berlin 3584
Jewish Woman Serving in RCAF WW ll née Bennett. Born March 24, 1923, Toronto. Died June 10, 1999. Norda was studying philosophy and English at the University of Toronto in 1941. She decided not to complete her studies and by 1943 she has enlisted in the newly formed Women's Division in the Royal Canadian Air Force. She returned to university after she was discharged in 1944 and after graduation worked as a Librarian in Toronto. She married Abraham David Berlin (1921-2005). Source: She Also Served online 9accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2021)

Frances Binder-Labensohn 3600
Jewish Woman Serving in C W A C WW ll née Binder. Born February 19, 1919, Montreal, Quebec. Died October 31, 1996. Frances gave up school after grade nine but took night school courses in shorthand, typing, and bookkeeping. She soon landed a job as an inspector in a clothing factory before working with the Jewish newspaper, Canadian Jewish Review as a secretary. In October 1942 she enlisted with the Canadian Women's Army Corp with the promise from the newspaper that she could return to her job after the end of the war. She was posted to Montreal, Quebec, Kitchener, Ontario, and St. John's Newfoundland. December 4, 1943 she married Signalman Binder in Kingston, Ontario. The couple would have two daughters. Frances became separated from her husband in the late 1950's and became a single parent living in Calgary, Alberta. Source; She Also Served. online. (accessed 2021)

Karine Blais       3526

Served in Afghanistan Born January 4, 1988, Cowansville, Quebec. Died April 13, 2009 in line of duty Kandahar, Afghanistan. As a youth Karine had been a member of the Sea Cadets. She enjoyed playing hockey and as a student worked in a restaurant and a grocery store. Karine Blais was a trooper in the Canadian army with rank of Corporal. In April 2009 the armored vehicle she was traveling in struck a roadside bomb near Kandahar, Afghanistan killing Karine and wounding four other soldiers. Karine was just two weeks into her first tour of duty with the 12th Armored Regiment of Canada bases at C F B Val Cartier, Quebec. In Afghanistan she was serving with the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment Battle Group. In November 2021 her mother, Mme Josée Simard, was named National Silver Cross Mother to place a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa for Remembrance Day to represent all Silver Cross Mothers across Canada. (2021)

Fern Alberta Blodgett
Born 1918, Regina, Saskatchewan. Died September 19,1991, Farsund Municipality, Norway. The family moved to Ontario where Fern grew up watching the ships on the great lakes. She wanted to become a sailor. She attended school in Toronto and learned to transmit messages on the spark-gap radio. She wanted to serve in the World War ll but the Canadian government was not predisposed to accept women in the services. On June 13, 1941 she became the first Canadian woman to serve in the Merchant Marines. She worked on a No9rwigian Merchant Navy vessel the Mosdale as a wireless radio operator. In 1942 she married Captain Gerner Sunde of the Mosdale. The couple would have two daughters. In 1942 King Haakon of Norway awarded Fern the Norwegian War medal for her wartime service as chief wireless officer, she was the first woman to receive this medal. Source: !00 more Canadian Heroines by Merna Forster (Dundurn Press, 2011) (2022)

Doreen Brandon 3629 née Penrose. Born August 25, 1924, Aberdeen, Scotland. Died Regina, Saskatchewan. During World War ll (1939-1945) she joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served as a hairdresser for three and a half years. She married Ross Brandon (1919-2002) May 5, 1945. Ross returned home to Saskatchewan and waited almost a year for Doreen to join him on his homestead in Frobisher, Saskatchewan. The couple raised two sons on their farm. Doreen enjoyed highland dancing. Source: Saskatchewan Legion, Military Service Book. online (accessed 2022.)

Deanne "Dee" Brasseur Born September 9, 1953, Pembroke, Ontario. Dee's father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Air Forces and she is a self labeled Air force brat. The family lived in 11 different Canadian forces bases as well as two U.S. bases while she was growing up. After high school she tried university but preferred to try the military instead. In 1972 she enlisted as a Private and served as a clerk. She earned a commission as Captain when she completed Officer Candidate Training Program as an air weapons controller. After all this she sill wanted to fly. At this time openings were not available for women to train as pilots but in 1979 a window of opportunity opened and she became one of the 1st four women to enter the Canadian Forces Flight Training. She graduated on Feb 13, 1981 and became the 1st woman flight instructor at Canadian Forces Flight Training Schools in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan a position she enjoyed for 5 years. In 1989 she and Captain Jane Foster became the 1st two women fighter pilots in the world when they qualified to fly the CF 18 Hornet. An injury kept Dee out of the 1991 Gulf War and in 1994 Major Dee Brasseur retired from the Canadian military. She became a motivational speaker and one of her popular topics is “The sky is NOT the limit”. She founded “One in a million Project" to raise financial support to combat P T S S, something she herself has endured. After 9/11 in the U.S.A. she rejoined the Canadian Forces as a Reserve Officer and is a part time member of the air staff.

Esther Bubis-Thorley    3598

Jewish Woman Serving in C W A C WW ll née Bubis. Born, Toronto, Ontario. Died February 13, 2018, Ajax, Ontario. After receiving her grade ten diploma from high school Esther worked as a seamstress and a babysitter. After the death of her brother Meyer, at the World War ll Dieppe raid, Esther felt strongly that she should enlist. In June 1943 she enlisted in the Canadian Women's Army Corps (C W A C). Women in the Army received seventy cents a day while servicemen received $1.30 per day. When her father dies she returned from Vancouver to Toronto sit the seven days of shiva (mourning). She was considered A W O L and upon return she was confined to barracks. Decommissioned at the end of World War ll she returned to Toronto where she married Harry Thorley, a fellow veteran. Part of her military service story appears in the book: Double Threat: Canadian Jews, The Military, and WW ll, by Ellin Bessner. Source: She Also Served. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Ann Burdette

née Norstrom. Born Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1958 she enlisted in the armed Forces and served as an Air Force policewoman. Returning to civilian life she took a position as an office administrator with the Provincial Government. In 1969 she joined her local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in Terrace Bay, British Columbia. She worked at several executive positions and became the first woman to serve as President of her Branch. By 1989 after serving again in several positions on provincial executive she became the first woman to head up the Pacific Command of the Royal Canadian Legion. In 2004 she was elected as the Dominion President, the first woman to hold this title. In 2005 she took a successful trip to Afghanistan to visit the troops as part of her outreaching to encourage the next generation membership for the Legion. She has been awarded the Canadian Minister of Veteran’s Affairs Commendation for her dedication and service. Source: Legion acclaims Dominion President… June 15, 2004 Royal Canadian Legion Online (accessed June 2007)

Molly Chadsey née Thompson. Born 1916, Kent, England. Died February 21, 2014, Mitchell, Ontario. In 1937 she earned her bachelor degree in science, specializing in Economics at the University of London, England. She was deeply affected by the bombings she witnessed during World War ll in Kent, and wanting to do her ‘bit’ for the war effort she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. A linguist who was fluent in both French and German she was recruited to the Allied Central Interpretation Unit. She became an expert at air photographic interpretation and even lectured at Photographic Interpretation School. She was soon promoted to the rank of flight officer. The Camouflage Section was responsible for spotting the German ship, Bismarck, and for tracking German U Boats (submarines) and more. In 1944 Molly married Captain Philip Chadsey of the Canadian Air Force. After the war the couple settled in Toronto, Ontario where Molly volunteered with the YWCA. Molly served as president of the YWCA from 1969 through 1973 and became vice-president of the World YWCA in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1961 she was the YWCA delegate to the United Nations. The War Time Intelligence Unit’s story is told in the book: Women Intelligence: Winning the Second World War With Air Photos. By Christine Halsall. Source: Mollie Chadsey, Wartime Photographic Interpreter: A Woman of Intelligence in the War Effort by Noreen Shanahan in The Globe and Mail. March 20, 2014. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario.

Wendy Clay Raised on Canada's west coast she earned her medical degree in 1967 through the Medical Officer training Plan of the Canadian Armed Forces. Her military career is a long line of achievements. She was the first female officer cadet in the Royal Canadian Navy and the first medical officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. She was also the first Canadian woman to receive her degree in aviation medicine. She was the first Canadian woman to graduate from the military's basic pilot training in 1972 and the first female to earn her military wings (non operational) in 1974. She retired from her successful military career as Brigadier General in 1998.

Michelle "Mickey" Colton Born 1958, Kitchener, Ontario. Mickey joined the Canadian Armed Forces and in 1980 became one of the 1st Canadian women trainee pilots. At the beginning it was difficult with only so few women pilots. Mickey says she got through those years and felt really accepted when people stopped calling her a female pilot and simply called her a pilot!. She believes women have made the air force much more professional. She is the 1st Canadian Herculese pilot to reach 5000 hours of flying. She retired for full service in 2001 but remains in the reserves where she will serve but not fly. In 2009 for the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada, 100 names of Canadian Aviation giants of flight history were painted on the side of a CF-18 plane monument. Mickey Colton is one of those names. Source: Remembrance Day: “Yes Ma’am” Canada’s female military pioneers. (Accessed March 2014) :

Margaret Elizabeth Cooper née Douglas. Born January 25, 1919, Punta de Este, Uruguay. Died July 18, 2016, Hamilton, Ontario. Her father was a Canadian to moved to raise cattle in Argentina where she was raised. She married Craig Cooper an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force in March 1945. During the War she joined the women’s Royal Naval Service known as the WRENS. She worked as a decoder at Britain’s Bletchley Park Code Breaking Facility where she became an officer. She worked on the Memory Project where she was sworn to secrecy. She kept her knowledge of German U-boats secret for decades after the war. In the 1970’s the official secrets act lifted the veil of secrecy. She returned to Canada as a War Bride and settled on a arm in Carlisle, Ontario near Burlington. The couple raised their 4 children on Cherry Hill Farm. Source: Fred Langan, Decoder Margaret Cooper monitored U-boats During WW ll.. Suggestion submitted by Cabot You, Ottawa, Ontario.

Eva Cossman-Berry 3607 née Cossman. Born 1910, North Sydney, Nova Scotia. Died December 10, 2005, Ottawa, Ontario. Eva was raised with her family in Montreal and attended McGill University. During World War ll she served overseas as a captain in the newly formed Canadian Women's Army Corps (C W A C) working with the Interservice Committee for Protection of Prisoners of War in Enemy Hands. In 1944 she helped selecting gifts for Christmas parcels sent to Canadian prisoners of war captured by the Germans. After the War she worked with the relocation of the British War Brides who came to Canada to join their military husbands. Eva married Robert A. Berry and the couple remained together for 56 years. They raised three children together. Once her children were grown she worked in broadcasting with the C B C. In 1960, she was elected to the Ottawa Board of Education and the Ontario Trustee and Rate Payers Association. From 1976 through 1984 she served as chair of the Unemployment Insurance Board of Referees. She served in addition with the Ottawa Library Board and the Board of Education Advisory Board. Source She Also Serves; online (accessed 2021); Obituary, Ottawa Citizen. (accessed 2021)

Diane Croll     3585

Jewish Doctor serving with RCAF Born December 24, 1914, Yorkton Saskatchewan. Died July 29, 1974. Diane sudied medicine at the University of Manitoba graduating in 1940. After her internship she went on to earn a Masters of Science in Experimental Medicine. In June 1942 she enlisthed as a doctor in the Royal Canadian Air Force serving at multiple locations in Ontario. She was discharged in December 1944 and went on to have a distinguished career in pathology and internal medicine. In 1977 The Diane Croll Memorial Scholarship was established by her family at the University of Winnipeg. Source: She Also Served online (accessed 2021)

Wafa Dabbagh Born 1962(?) Egypt. Died June 5 2012. At 15 she decided to “cover” herself as part of her religious dedication to being a Muslim. She was the 1st woman in her family to wear a hijab (a Muslim Woman’s head covering). She earned a bachelor of science while living in Kuwait and later earned a MBA. Wafa moved to Montreal in 1990 and in 1996 she relocated to Windsor, Ontario. Unable to find a suitable job and one day unable to get into the employment offices she found herself in a Canadian Forces recruitment office. After considering what the armed services had to offer Wafa joined the Canadian Naval Reserve. She was the 1st Muslim woman wearing a head covering to enlist and serve. Although the initial reaction of the service personnel was reluctance she soon proved that she was an able individual who fit right into the program. Determination is one of her strong suits. She found that the female uniform skirt was too tight fitting for her belief so she donned maternity smock. There were no opening for an officer when she enlisted so she underwent basic training as a non-commissioned member. Once her training was complete an officer position became available so she was back in basic training. Unfortunately she was injured and after three months recovery she was back in basic training meeting all requirements. She would obtain the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 2006 she was training Naval Cadets. In 2007 she participated in Operation Proteus, a Canadian training mission in Jerusalem. In 2012 she was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. She did not start out to be the 1st but she was pleased to be able to show that “covered” Muslim women could have a place in Canada’s military if that is what they desired.    Sources: Various obituaries from several different publications.

Jean Flatt Davey
Died March 13, 1980. She Graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Toronto in 1936. She was the first Canadian woman doctor to enter the Canadian Armed Forces. At the time the 5,000 women in the Medical Corps were not allowed to work on combat war ships or with combat teams. From 1941-1945 she served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as squadron leader forming a unit that provided medical care. For her war time services she was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1943. After the war she became the first Canadian woman to receive the fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1959, while working at the Women’s College Hospital, the hospital was accredited as on of the teaching hospitals, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and she was the first woman to be appointed to a department of medicine in a teaching hospital. In 1973 she retired and was awarded the Order of Canada.

Brenda / Brindi Diamond / Diament-Fischauf

Jewish Woman serving with C W A C WW ll née Diamond / Diament. Born 1914, Staszow, Poland. Died September 27, 2015, Toronto, Ontario. Brenda came to Canada sponsored to work as a domestic for a Mrs. B. Roseman, Kitchener, Ontario when she was in her early 20's. This working arrangement had been set up by Brenda's sister who had immigrated to Canada in 1928. Just before she left Poland she was married to her boyfriend Dov, in an onofficial religious ceremony but her immigration documents listed her as single. By 1939 she was working as a dressmaker in Toronto. By April 8, 1943 she was a naturalized Canadian citizen and enlisted in the Canadian Women's Army Corps (C W A C). After her training in Kitchener she worked as a seamstress and by 1943 was posted overseas to England with an army costume show. While she tried desperately to get to her family and Dov in Poland but was denied. Dov and most of her family would be lost in the Holocaust. Returning to Canada at the end of the war she worked at the National Ballet and the new Stratford Theatre in Ontario making costumes. IN Toronto she joined a Yiddish reading circle and the Toronto Jewish Fold Choir. She later married a Holocaust survivor Nathan Fischauf. Source: She Also Served. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Craig Dunn
née Eaton. Born 1913 ?, Toronto, Ontario. Died June 6, 1988. She and her twin brother Jack were born into the famous Eaton business family of Toronto. In 1942 she joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corps as a Captain. She would serve in Italy and Northern Europe war fronts where she became Director General of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps in 1944. She was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her wartime service. In 1946 she married Lt. Col. J. Hubert Dunn and would become an active member of the Women’s Canadian Club in London, England.

Evelyn Fainer-Robson   3609 née Fainer. Born December 17, 1914, Ottawa, Ontario. Died July 27, 1972, Sudbury, Ontario. Evelyn' parents would raise their family in Saint John, New Brunswick. After leaving school Evelyn worked for several years as a clerk in a shoe store. When the second World War (1939-1945) broke out she enlisted in December 1941 in the newly formed Women's Army Corps (C W A C) after her boyfriend Clarence had been sent overseas. She was posted to work as a cook at the Howe lake Military Hospital near Saint John. By 1943 she was serving overseas again working as a cook at Aldershot and London, England. After the war she worked at her father's bakery and in 1946 married Clarence Robson and the couple settled in Sudbury, Ontario. She would work outside the home only at Christmas time to help out her family of three children. She volunteered sewing for the Red Cross making pajamas. Source: She Also Serves Online (accessed 2021)

Marie-Louise Fish In 1974 Marie Louise began her career in the Canadian Military. She would become the 1st woman to serve as a naval officer at sea. It was part of a pilot project to employ women in previously all-male naval units. There were very few women in the Navy at this time and training meant arduous training alongside male counterparts. When she retired from the Canadian Military she was the 1st woman to serve as president of the Ontario Association of College and University Security Administrators. At the three graduate institutions she was associated with, The Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario and Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario she developed policies and practices to enhance women’s safety and increased the representation of women on security staff. In 2010 she was one of the recipients of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case which recognizes women who have worked to advance equality for women in Canada. Source: Women’s History Month, Women in Canadian Military Forces: A Proud Legacy. Status of Women Canada. October 2011.

Joan Bamford Fletcher Born 1918, Regina, Saskatchewan. Died April 30, 1979. Joan's family immigrated to Canada around 1906 and took up ranching in Saskatchewan. Joan grew up training horses prior to being sent to boarding schools in England, Belgium, and France for her formal education. At the beginning of World War ll she joined the Canadian Red cross which was the only service open to women who wanted to serve at this time She was soon in England serving with the First Aid and Yeomanry (F A N Y), an all women uniformed volunteer organization that worked with the military. She served for a few years in Scotland as a driver working with exiled Polish recruits. In the spring of 1945 Lieutenant Fletcher would lead 2,000 Dutch civilian former prisoners of was through Sumatran jungle to safety. She commanded 70 Japanese soldiers to blast her way through the jungle. For her bravery and leadership she was inducted into the Order of the British Empire (OBE). She was also presented with a 300 year old Samurai sword by the Captain of the Japanese soldiers who she had lead and who were entirely impressed with her. After the war , still with F A N Y she was posted to Communist Poland where she had to be airlifted to safety by the Royal Air Force. Joan would return to Canada to help her ailing mother on the family ranch near Victoria, British Columbia. Here she would once again enjoy working with horses as she had done in her youth. Her Samurai sword was donated for display at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa. In 2005 the documentary Women of Courage: Rescue from Sumatra was produced in 2005. (2020)

Miriam 'Mimi' Freedman-Hart   3608 née Freedman. Born March 2, 1911, Montreal, Quebec. Died April 23, 1994. After the first world war in 1918 Mimi and her family left Canada and settled first in Belgium and then in the United Kingdom. This gave Mimi the chance to learn several languages including German and Flemish which would come in handy later in life. In September of 1939 with the breakout of World War ll Mimi joined the London Ambulance Service in London, England. During nightly bombing raids by the enemy ambulances were busy during the worst days of the Blitz. In 1943 she joined the Canadian Women's Army Corps as a driver at the Canadian Military Headquarters. She landed in Normandy, France just tow months after D-Day Her language skills often found this Staff Sargeant serving as a translator talking to local peoples who were being liberated. Mimi was the only Jewish Canadian enlisted woman to be decorated for bravery during the War. She was discharged in 1946 and returned to Canada. She married Bill Hart. Sources: Profile of Courage, Veteran Affairs Canada online (accessed 2021); She Also Served, online (accessed 2021)

Rose Goodman 3587

Jewish Woman in RCAF Born June 19, 1919, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Died January 26, 1943, Alberta. Rose had just graduated earning her Bachelor of Arts from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia when in October 1941she enlisted in the newly formed Women's Auxiliary Air Force, later called the Women's Division, Royal Canadian Air Force. She was sent on the Administrative Training Course and soon rose through the ranks and was recommended as Assistant Section Officer and posted to No. 6 Training Depot, Trenton, Ontario. She was soon reposted to No. 15 Service Flying Training School, Claresholm, Alberta. Rose was a member of a wedding party when the group flew returning from Lethbridge to Claresholm, Alberta. The plan crashed crashed in a farmer's field due to limited visibility and malfunction of the aircraft. Source: She Also Served, online (accesses 2021)

Marion Margaret Graham 3745

World War ll R C A F Squadron Leader Born August 25, 1903, Crossland, Ontario. Died April 23, 1995, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1907 Marion and her family relocated to Saskatchewan. Marion would graduate from Normal School (teachers' college) before she attended and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan. In 1928 she began working as a teacher in Saskatoon. She became interested in the pioneering effort of Special education. She became a well known promoter for education and library development. During the Second World War (1939-1945) she was on of the early women to join the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force (R C A F). She was posted across the country including at No. 4 Service Flying Training School in Saskatoon. She was discharged from the Canadian military in 1945 with the rank of Squadron Leader. Later she became the first woman to be president of the Saskatchewan R C A F Association. After the war she spend some time as national supervisor of women's training with the Canada Department of Labour. Returning to Saskatoon she again took up her teaching career. She was a Saskatchewan library trustee, a member of the Saskatoon school board from 1965 through 1980.In 1977 she was named a Member of the Order of Canada. A high school, a school library and an air cadet division have all been named in her honour. Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. online (accessed 2022)

Mary Greyeyes-Reid

Aboriginal Soldier
Born 1920, Muskeg Lake Reserve, Saskatchewan. Died March 2011. At five years of age Mary was taken away from her family to attend and Indian Residential School. Here she received extra tutoring in laundry, cooking and sewing from one of the teaching nuns. In 1942 Mary became the 1st aboriginal woman in the Canadian Army when she enlisted in the Canadian Womens Army Corp. She worked as a cook and in the laundry services while stationed in Aldershot, England. There was a famous photograph taken of Mary supposedly receiving a blessing from her chief. In fact, 70 years later, the truth came out that the photo had been staged with “the Chief” wearing a makeshift costume. In reality the two, Mary and “The Chief” had never met previous to the photo. Real or not the photo was used to represent aboriginals in the Canadian Armed Forces during World War ll. Mary was not the only member of her family to enlist, in total ten Greyeyes family members, including 4 woman served during World War ll. After the war Mary returned to Canada and married Alexander “Bud” Reid and the couple raised two children in Victoria and later in Vancouver. Mary worked in a restaurant and later she was an industrial seamstress. Sources: Women’s History Month: Women in Canadian Military Forces: A proud Legacy. Status of Women Canada. October 2011. Online (Accessed March 2014)

Susan Violet Groves 4198 née Kiley. Born May 2, 1953, Sydney, Nova Scotia. Died January 23, 2016, Ottawa, Ontario. Susan originally dropped out of high school at 16 to be married. Susan attended Dalhousie University, Halifax obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1982 through home study. In 1989 she joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a Pharmacy Officer. In 1993 she married Dr. Richard Groves and had two daughters. She served at Canadian Forces Base (C F B) Greenwood, Nova Scotia, C F B Petawawa, Ontario, C F B Calgary, AB and the National Defence Medical Centre, Ottawa. In 1992 she served with a United Nations peacekeeping tour in Bosnia where she was Commanding Officer of the Field Medical Equipment Depot (F MED) in Calgary and served four years as the officer in charge of all Canadaian Forces pharmacy service, holding the Acting Rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. She also served on many national and international committees, including the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities as the de facto Registrar for the Canadian Forces and as Vice-President for the Military / Emergency Pharmacy Section (M E P S) of the International Pharmaceutical Federation. She officially retired from the Canadian Forces on May 2013 and the Canadian Public Service in July of that year. Source: Obituary online (accessed 2023)

Rosella Henry

C W A C World War ll Born July 31, 1924, Swan River, Manitoba. Died August 25, 1945, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Tin the late 1930's she moved with her family to Calgary Alberta. Rosella left school partway through grade nine in order to help the family finances by working in a laundry. In the early 1940's she worked as a mechanic's helper at No. 31 Elementary Flying Training School near Calgary. After the school closed he enlisted in the Canadian Women's Army Corp (C W A C) in 1944. The C W A C women were assigned to one of 55 different trades and since she had some experience she could be assigned to practice one of the more unconventional trades like vehicle maintenance. Travelling to Kitchener, Ontario she received basis training and was posted ot Halifax, Nova Scotia in January 1945. Rosella had been working on a forklift when the 6,000 pound vehicle overturned and pinned her to the ground. Sadly she died two days later from the accident. She was the second of her family to die in service. (her brother Henry died in the Italian Campaign in 1943). Rosella was decorated with the War Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal. Source: Military History Library, Valour Canada online (accessed 2022)

Sue Jacobs-Ransohoff     3588

Jewish Member R C A F World War ll née Westheimer. Born December 22, 1919, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. Died March 20, 2020, U.S.A. .July 23, 1942 Sue married Pilot Officer Michael Jacobs who was serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War ll. Michael died while on duty. After the death of her husband, while visiting family in Montreal, she enlisted herself in the newly formed Women's Division of the R C A F. She served in Gander, Newfoundland and in Scoudouc, New Brunswick. Just before she was decommissioned at the end of the war she married a second time to Jerry Ransohoff. who had served in the U S Air Force. The couple lived in the U.S.A. and raised four children. Since she had been in the Canadian services she lost her American Citizenship but was able to have it restored in 1946. She earned a Masters of Social Work working in social work, and as a reviewer and journalist. Source: She Also Serves. online (accessed 2021)

Ziona Kaplan

Jewish Member R C A F World War ll née Levin. Born January 19, 1925, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died October 18, 2009. At 17 Ziona left the family farm in Grosse Isle, Manitoba and lived with her sister in Winnipeg. She enlisted with the Woman's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942. At first she kept her enlistment a secret so that no one would talk her out of serving. She was posted to western Canada where she served as a medical stenographer traveling with doctors to various stations. Life in the military exposed her to non Jews and non-kosher foods. After she was decommissioned at the end of the war she found employment in the private secotor as a medical stenographer. She later married and raised three children. Source: She Also Served, Online (accessed 2021)

Josée Kurtz née Boisclair. Born Joliette, Quebec. In 1988 Josée graduated from C E G E P de Lanaudière, Joliette and joined the Canadian Navy. In the 1990’s she taught and was an administrator at the Naval Officer Training Centre. By 2005 she had earned her B.A. in history and geography from the University of Ottawa and in 2007 she earned her Masters of Defence Studies at the Canadian Forces Defence College, Toronto, Ontario. In 2007 she was an executive Officer on the HMCS Ville de Québec. On April 6, 2009 she became the 1st woman to command a major Canadian Navy warship, the HMCS Halifax. In 2012 she served as Commandant of the Canadian Forces Naval Operations School, Halifax Nova Scotia. She is married and has one daughter. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the HMCS Sackville a World War ll Corvette. The volunteer group wants to secure the long term future of this ship. She also volunteers with Camp Hill Veterans’’ Memorial Hospital in Halifax. Source: Women’s History Month, Women in Canadian Military Forces: A Proud Legacy. Status of Women Canada. October 2011. (2021)

Lilai Margarita Logette        3586

Born October 27, 1911, Buenos Ares, Argentina. Died September 28, 2002, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.A. By the time Lilai was 14 she and her sister were living in Liverpool, England. The girls left for Canada in February 1926 with a escort to join their parents who were settled in Montreal, Quebec. Lilia would attend university and eventually hold a Doctorate. In the 1930's she was working in the music industry. By 1942, with World War two in full force Lilai enlisted in the newly formed Woman's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Her father, who had served in Britain in the First World War was serving with the Royal Canadian Volunteer Reserves. After the war she studied interior design in New York, U.S.A. By the 1950's she was working in the restaurant business. In 1954 she relocated to Florida. By the 1970's had established the Centre for Human Development in Hollywood, Florida, U.S.A. She became well known for this metaphysical and spiritual healing centre providing 33 years of service to her community. A life long learner, at 80 she earned a PhD. Sources: She Also Served, online (accessed 2021); Obituary, online, (accessed 2021) .

Isabel Janet Macneill / MacNeill Born June 4, 1908, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died August 18,1990. Isabel attended Halifax Ladies College, Mount Saint Vincent Academy followed by attending the Nova Scotia College of Art and graduating in 1928. She wanted a career in scenic design but soon found herself working as a counselor. In 1942 she joined the Wrens and in March 1943 she was promoted to 1st Officer. Two months later in June 1943 she became commanding officer of H M C S Conestoga, the 1st woman in the British Commonwealth to hold a command. In June1944 she was awarded the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her training Canadian Wrens. In April 1945 she was promoted to the rank of Commander. After World War 11 in 1946 she was employed by the Ontario Government as Director of Special Services for Wayward Girls and she headed the Training School for Delinquents in Coburg and then in Galt. She believed that the girls should achieve self confidence to re-enter successfully life in society. In 1954 she returned to duty in the Canadian Navy to help establish a small permanent force of Wrens. She retired from the Canadian Navy in June. In 1960 she became the 1st woman prison warden when she was appointed to head the Prison for Women (P4W), Kingston, Ontario. Here, as she had done for the Girls Training School she encouraged development of the women to encourage change. When her beliefs became contrary to prison regulations in 1966 she resigned her post. She became a life member of the Elizabeth Fry Society and continued to promote prison reform. . She was also a charter member of Veterans Against Nuclear Arms. She was a recipient of the Queen’s Coronation Medal in 1953 and in 1971 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. Source: Herstory 2006: The Canadian Women’s Calendar. Coteau Books, 2005) ; Macneill, Isabel 1908-1990. Fonds. Memory Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Public Archives. Online (Accessed October 2014)

Roslyn 'Lyn' Marcus-Grey

Jewish Member R C A F World War ll née Marcus. Born April 17, 1925, Saint, John, New Brunswick. Died October 29, 2020, After high school Lyn began studies at Dalhousie University, Halifax but soon transferred to Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. While at university in Kingston she volunteered as a driver with the Red Cross. After seeing antisemitism labeling Jews as cowards and pacifists, Lyn enlisted on December 27, 1943 with the newly formed Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Working as a wireless operator she was stationed in Montreal, Quebec, Hamilton, Ontario, and in Nova Scotia at Halifax and Dartmouth. The Veterans Rehabilitation Act she retuned to Queens with her tuition paid and access to student loans along with a living allowance. She earned a Bachelor Degree in Chemistry and went on to earn a Master's in Microbiology in 1950. After graduation she worked as a Research Scientist at the Medical Research Council of Great Britain , London, England for three years. In 1952 she married Rodney Grey and the couple had two children. Back in Canada by 1963 she was Chairman of the Consumer's Association of Canada's Committee on Pesticides. From 1967 until her retirement in 1985 she worked at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario. In 1970 she was divorced from Grey in 1970 her life partner was George Setterfield (died 2008). Source: She Also Served, online (accessed 2021)

Ester Mendelshon-Mager      3596
Jewish Member R C A F World War ll née Mendelshon. Born December 3, 1917, Montreal, Quebec. Died December 29, 2017. While dtill and infant her mother died of the influenza in 1918. Raised by her father and step-mother she worked as a youth in the family jewellery business. Later she worked as an assistant bookkeeper at an appliance production business. In 1941 she enlisted in the Canadian Air Force and was posted to the Bombing and Gunnery School, Mont-Joli, Quebec and later at North Battleford, Saskatchewan. . In 1945 she married Saul Mager, a dress manufacturer from Toronto. The couple raised two sons. Some of her photographs of family and her World War ll life are maintained in the Ontario Jewish Archives. Her War time life is preserved on The Memory Project; Veterans Stories. Historica Canada. Source: She Also Served. online (accessed 2021)

Mollie Mickelson-Klein     3590
Jewish Member R C A F World War ll née Mickelson. Born October 24, 1912, Edmonton, Alberta. Died September 30, 2005, Vancouver, British Columbia. During the Second World War Mollie enlisted with the Canadian Women's Auxiliary Air Force which became the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force. She became a Sergeant and was involved in confidential correspondence for a Commanding Officer at Gunnery School in Mont-Jolie, Quebec and later with Captain Foss in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. While in Prince Rupert she encountered racism when at a movie she was told she could not sit in a particular area which was meant for Aboriginals only. After she was discharged she married George Klein, a Holocaust survivor, and they raised a daughter. Source: She Also Serves, online (accessed 2021); Obituary, Vancouver Sun Online, (accessed 2021)

Esther Raber-Nobleman     3591

Jewish Member R C A F World War ll née Rader. Born January 19, 1921, Estuary, Saskatchewan. Died June 6, 2014, Vancouver, British Columbia. Ester moved to Ottawa, Ontario, after high school to work as a secretary in the Department of Munitions and Supplies. With her brothers serving in World War ll she wanted to do more and Esther enlisted in the Woman's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force on April 29, 1943 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. She was stationed to Air Force headquarters in Ottawa and worked in the Directorate of Technical Training. She soon received her sergeant's stripes. She wanted to serve overseas and even more so after her brother was a prisoner of war but her posting saw her remain in Ottawa. After the war she married Abe Nobleman and the couple settled in Montreal prior to relocating to Medicine Hat and then Vancouver, British Columbia. The couple raised three children and Ester worked in the family ladies wear ship. At 55 she earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia. Source: She Also Serves, online (accessed 2021).

Ruth Penner 3621

Jewish Member R C A F World War ll Born 1924, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ruth's father was Jacob Penner (1880-1965) a Ukrainian Mennonite who would help found the Communist part in Canada and become the longest serving Winnipeg Councilor. Her mother was a Jewish immigrant. While her brothers would be refused to sign up during the Second World War because of their fathers Communist connections, after passing health exams some were allowed to join the army but were warned that they would not see any advancement in the ranks. Ruth enlisted with the newly formed Canadian Women's Army Corps (C W A C) in 1942. She married Harry Gulkin who was also affiliated with the Communist Party. By 1950 she had graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work from McGill University, Montreal and worked as a social worker for a while prior to staying at home to rais her two children. In 1954 her home in Montreal was raided by the police searching for communist material. In the 1970 when wishing to travel she had to plan her trip to avoid any stopovers in the United States. Once her children were grown in 1966 she worked at the Lethbridge Rehabilitation Centre, Montreal until she retired in 1989. (2022)

Frances Adele Rabitblat-Rothblatt 3597
Jewish Member R C A F World War ll
née Rabitblat. Born June 22, 1909, Calvert, Texas, U.S.A. Died May 29, 1982, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Shortly after her birth the family relocated to Toronto, Ontario where her brother was boron in 1919. She and her family became naturalized Canadian citizens. After school she worked as a stenographer in Toronto. She enlisted in the newly formed Women's Division in the Royal Canadian Air Force. After being discharged she moved to Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. where she med and married Sidney Rothblatt in 1947. In 1949 she applied to regain her American Citizenship. Source: She Also Served. online (accessed 2021)

Doreen Nettie Paterson Reitsma née Paterson. Born December 12, 1927, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died April 30, 2000 Delta, British Columbia. In 1949, while working at the front desk of the Hotel Vancouver, Doreen was inspired by meeting Eleanor Roosevelt, the former 1st Lady of the United States. Doreen took steps to make her dream of serving in the Canadian Military come true in 1951. She made history as the 1st to enlist in the new Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Navy. She began training October 2, 1951 as an elite radio intelligence operator for the top-secret wireless communications base in Coverdale, New Brunswick. She also served a term at the Naval Radio Station at Churchill, Manitoba in 1953-54. On January 26, 1955, Doreen Patterson helped inspire Prime Minister Louis St Laurent and his cabinet to create a permanent and fully integrated regular force for women in the Royal Canadian Navy. This decision—the first in the Commonwealth—paved the way for thousands of Canadian women to follow in her footsteps. Doreen married Gerard “Bill” Reitsma, a Korean War veteran, on August 18, 1960 and was the mother of two adopted children. Source: “Doreen Nettie Paterson Reitsma” by Raymond Reitsma , The Vancouver Hall of Fame, online (Accessed December 2012.)

Adelaide Helen Grant Sinclair. Born January 16, 1900, Toronto, Ontario. Died November 29, 1982, Ottawa, Ontario. Adelaide attend Havergal College in Toronto before entering the University of Toronto where she earned a degree in economics. She did post-graduate studies at the London School of Economics from 1926-to 1929 and the University of Berlin, Germany in 1929. She returned to Canada to lecture in economics and political science at the University of Toronto. During World War ll she joined the Royal Canadian Navy and became the 1st woman to wear Captains stripes. She was appointed Director of Nursing Sisters of the Royal Canadian Navy in September 1943. In 1945 she was inducted into the Order of the British Empire for her services during the war. From 1946 through 1957 she worked as the executive assistant to the deputy minister of National Health and Welfare and represented Canada at UNICEF. From 1957 to 1967 when she retired she was the Executive Director for UNICEF Programs at the United Nations headquartered in New York City, New York, U.S.A. When she retired in 1967 she was inducted into the Order of Canada.

Harriet 'Hallie' Jennie Todd Sloan See Medical - Nurses

Elizabeth Lawrie Smellie Born March 22, 1884, Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario. Died March 5, 1968. A nurse who served in both world wars. She was a builder of the Victoria Order of Nurses, helping it to become a nationwide organization and was its chief superintendent from 1923-1947. She was granted leave from the VON to serve as matron in chief in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corp from 1941 till 1955. In 1941 she laid the foundations for the establishment of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps. In 1944 she was the first woman to become a colonel in the Canadian Army.

Tanya Volovnik-Sklar    3592

Jewish Member R C A F World War ll née Volovnik. Born April 21, 1919, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died January 1, 2009, Calgary, Alberta. The family would relocated to Calgary, Alberta.During World War ll Tanya joined the newly formed Woman's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force as the only Jewish woman from Calgary. She served across Canada as a clerk, including working for the Wing Commander of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. stenographer. After being decommissioned at the end of the war she attended the University of Toronto Business School and earned her Bachelor of Commerce. In 1950 she married Robert Abe Gelfand (1914-1960)and the couple settled in Calgary raising three sons. She was widowed in the 1960's and worked as a host for a local live television cooking and sewing show and as a host on a local radio talk show. She was one of the first women hired as a media host. She married a second time to Sidney Sklar (1925-2012)Active in her community life she volunteered with the Calgary Cable, the Glenbow Museum, the China Lioness Club and the Olympic Arts Festival. Source: She Also Serves., online, (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada, online (accessed 2021)

Wilhelmina 'Willa' Walker née Magee. Born April 3, 1913, Montreal, Quebec. Died July 4, 2010. St Andrews, New Brunswick. After finishing her private education at The Study, a private girls school, she went to Paris, France to study French. She returned to Canada in 1933. She worked her way around the world serving as Post Mistress on the Empress of Britain, a ship in the Canadian Pacific fleet. She had a short career as a journalist prior to becoming the social secretary to Lady Beatrice Marler, wife of Sir Herbert Marler, a Canadian diplomat in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. In 1939 she me David Walker (died 1992), Aide-de-Camp to Governor General Tweedsmuir, John Buchan (1875-1940). The young pair were married July 27, 1939. The following year David was serving in France where she would become a prisoner of war for five years. Will would give birth to a son who would die in his crib at three months. By October 1941 she was enlisted in the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). In January 1942 she was in charge of new recruits and by February 1943 she was Commanding Officer of the Woman's Division of the RCAF with the rank of Wing Officer. Willa traveled through the country and Newfoundland encouraging women recruits. Women received only 2/3 pay as did male recruits. She got permission for women to eat in the Officers mess by eating crackers in her car in a snow storm until she was invited into the Officer's mess. In 1944 she was inducted into the Order of the British Empire. Willa resigned her commission in 1944 and was reunited with her husband in May 1945. The couple originally settled in Scotland where a son was born. The family lived in India while David was posted there. By 1947 they were back in Scotland for the birth of a second son and the following year the family settled St Andrews, New Brunswick where two more sons were born. David became an award winning author of 21 books. Willa also penned a books, Summers in St Andrews: Canada's Idyllic Seaside Retreat. She was active in the Canadian Club, the Charlotte County Museum and the St Andrew's Public Library. Source: Letters from Windermere. Eleanor Florence. Online (accessed 2020); Obituary. Online.

Rose Weingarten-Fogel     3600
Jewish woman serving in the C W A C WW ll Born 1921, Montreal? Quebec. Died August 29, 2016, Montreal, Quebec. Rose enlisted in the newly formed Canadian Women's Army Corp and became one of the few army women to serve overseas. In the fall of 1945 Rose became engaged to Gunner Harry Fogel in Apeldoorn, Holland. The couple were later married and had two daughters. Later in life she volunteered for a number or organizations including the Entraide Benevole Metro Montreal and the Canadian Legion. She is buried at the National Field of Honour Cemetery, Pointe-Claire, Quebec. Source: She Also Served. Online (accessed 2021)

Susan L. Wigg
In 1980 Susan visited a Canadian Military recruiting office and then became one of the 1st 32 women to attend the Royal Military College (RMC), Kingston, Ontario. She graduated in 1984 and served with distinction. From 2006-2010 she was stationed at Supreme Allied Headquarters Europe located in Belgium as Senior Staff Officer for Strategic Operational Planning. She planned NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Association) actions during Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Susan was a founding member of the Defense Women’s Advisory Organization which provides members perspectives to Canadian Forces leadership regarding efforts to address diversity issues and to create a more inclusive environment. In 2009 she received the General Campaign Star South-West Asia Medal for her service in Afghanistan. During 2010 - 2012 Lieutenant Colonel Wigg was the 1st woman to become Director of Cadets at R M C. She is also the 1st Canadian service woman of this rank to have children. Source: Women in Canadian Military Forces: A proud Legacy. Women’s History Month, October 2011. Status of Women Canada. Online (Accessed March 2014.)

Yvonne Valleau Wildman née Valleau. Born August 1, 1923, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Her family lived in Portland 7 years before returning home to Kindersley, Saskatchewan when Yvonne was 4 years old. Seeking to provide for his family of 8 children her father searched for work in British Columbia and in September 1937 his wife and children joined him on the West coast. Yvonne helped out working on a chicken farm. She also cleaned house for a piano teacher in exchange for lessons for herself. At 19 she and her girlfriend headed for Victoria, British Columbia to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. Basic training took place in Ottawa, Ontario. She was assigned to photography and had her 1st trip in an aeroplane during aerial photography, part of her course. After training she was posted as Service Flight Training School Number 19, Vulcan, Alberta where she was nicknamed ‘Val. ’Of this time in her life she remembers the close camaraderie best but there was also hard work developing training pictures. After the War she returned to Duncan, British Columbia. On July 17, 1946 she married Clarence Wildman and they raised 7 children in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. Source: RCAF Photographer Yvonne Valleau. Wartime Wednesdays Blog by Elinor Florence. Accessed September 2015.

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