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John Teunissen was an inmate at Stony Mountain Institution but he was never sentenced or even charged with any offence.
His only crime? Teaching English.
That’s because John, who was 91 when he died on July 2, was an English professor at the University of Manitoba. In 1974, he taught what his family says was the institution’s “short-lived degree program” to inmates at the prison.
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Those students made him an “honourary inmate” there.
John was born in Calgary and graduated from the St. Mary’s Boy’s High School there before spending a year as a Novice of the Congregation of St. Basil in Richmond Hill, Ont., and then officer training with the King’s Own Calgary Regiment (14th Armoured).
He worked with Canadian Fairbanks-Morse, a company which, among other things, sold windmill pumps to farmers, and was responsible for Lethbridge and Red Deer and the surrounding areas.
But that’s when John decided to go back to school and, in a sense, he never left.
He graduated with both a BA and MA from the University of Saskatchewan and then went to the University of Rochester where he received his PhD in 1967.
John came back to the University of Saskatchewan to begin teaching, then the University of Massachusetts, before being hired by the University of Manitoba in 1972 to be professor and head of the Department of English. Through his years of award-winning teaching John ended up being the department head three times in total.
But, at the same time, John also served twice as president of what was then known as the U of M Faculty Club, as well as serving in other academic and administrative positions.
John also published numerous papers, many times with his wife Evelyn Hinz, who was also a university professor. He edited the Canadian Review of American Studies for a decade, was a member of the founding editorial board of English Literary Renaissance, and was twice elected president of the Canadian Association for American Studies.
But foremost, John loved teaching. For a teacher who was named an honourary prison inmate, he would have happily been “imprisoned” in a classroom teaching English.
Through the years, John didn’t just teach here, but also served as a visiting professor at other universities including Dartmouth College and Bowling Green State University.
As his family says: “What he regretted most about his many other duties and activities is that they took him too much away from teaching and he felt that no memorial after death could compare with his award from the Modern Language Association of America for excellence in teaching basic courses in English, nor with the pleasure of knowing that many of the students he taught, and whose research he supervised at three universities, were themselves so successful and influential teachers in high schools, colleges and universities.”
John was predeceased by his wife, and is survived by his sister, nephew and niece, adopted daughter and son, and other family members.
Read more about John.
How They Lived
Rita Menzies taught in high schools before changing careers.
For a decade, Rita, who died on June 19 at the age of 83, taught mathematics and English literature at a senior high school in Steinbach and in Winnipeg at Kelvin High School.
But then Rita switched careers and began working in arts administration. She served as General Manager of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra for 25 years, and followed it by being interim operations manager and executive director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
She was also festival director of the annual Agassiz Chamber Music Festival for 11 years and, until she died, she was the festival’s board president.
Read more about Rita.
Steve Hawchuk loved the water long before he became a captain.
Steve, who was 87 when he died on July 4, grew up on a farm beside the Red River and that’s when his love for water began.
That love for water didn’t dissipate when he became an adult. That was when he and his brother bought the Paddlewheel Queen and Paddlewheel Princess in 1969, and he became a captain.
In the role, Steve helped millions of people see Winnipeg from the vantage point of the water.
Read more about Steve.
Yaroslava Demko was a teacher and social activist.
Yaroslova, who died on June 28 at the age of 84, was born in what was Western Ukraine.
She later became a teacher, in what was then Poland, teaching math and physics in high school, before coming to Canada in 1966. Here she taught as a support teacher in the Winnipeg School Division, as well as as various Ukrainian schools.
Yaroslava also served as president of several Ukrainian organizations, including Ukrainian Social Services, and was honoured by the Ukrainian government with several medals for her humanitarian and philanthropic work supporting the Ukrainian people including after the invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
Read more about Yaroslava.
Gerry Cadorath’s parents started a plating business in their garage and he helped take it to the skies.
Gerry, who was 63 when he died on June 25, was with Cadorath when the family founded Cadorath Aerospace in 1990.
He served as president and CEO of the company since his dad retired in 2001.
Read more about Gerry.
A Life’s Story
Gerry Dorge was a businessman who was committed to the local Francophone community.
Gerry was not only involved in owning Country Kitchen restaurants here, but also Canadian Publishers.
Dorge participating in a meeting of Canadian Publishers. (Supplied)
He was editor-in-chief of La Liberté and was CEO for Entreprises Riel.
“His legacy is that sense of service,” his son, Stephane, says.
“My dad sat on a lot of boards. What he taught me was ‘Don’t sit around and do nothing. If you believe in a cause, go and serve.’”
Read more about Gerry’s life here.
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life’s story.
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