(L) Walter Gage; (C) Eileen Dailly; (R) Jim Pattison

 

Walter Gage (1905 – 1978)

Walter Gage was born in Vancouver in 1905. After graduating from John Oliver  High School, he began a career at the University of British Columbia which lasted fifty years.

Gage graduated from UBC with a BA in 1925, and an MA in 1926. During his career at UBC, his duties included teaching mathematics and acting in a number of administrative roles including Registrar, Dean of Administrative and Inter-Faculty Affairs, and University President.He was very popular among students, due to his wild, entertaining teaching style, his generosity, and his ability to remember the names of his students.

Eileen Dailly (1928 – 2011)

Eileen Dailly was born in Vancouver to working class parents. Her political views came partly from her mother’s strong leftist beliefs but were also influenced by the hardships she and her family endured  after her father lost his job during the Depression of the 1930s.

Dailly is best known for her accomplishments as the Minister of Education for British Columbia in the NDP Government during 1972 – 1975. She abolished corporal punishment in public schools, discontinued province-wide Grade 12 graduating exams (these were re-instated 10 years later) , and made it mandatory for all school districts to provide kindergartens.. She remained the MLA for the Burnaby North provincial district until 1986.

Jim Pattison (1928 – )

Jim Pattison is a business magnate and philanthropist. Born in Saskatchewan, he grew up in East Vancouver.

During his high school years, Pattison earned money picking fruit, delivering newspapers, selling seeds door-to-door, and working as a page boy at the Georgia Hotel.After high school, he earned money to finance his university education by selling used cars. In 1961, he opened a car dealership on Main Street. From that starting point, he has built the largest privately owned company in Canada.

Pattison acted as Chief Executive Officer and president of the Expo 86 Corporation and served on the organizing committee for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He is also a well-known philanthropist who has donated many millions of dollars towards the construction of new hospitals and the expansion of medical services generally.

 

Posted: August 10, 2020

 

(Note: the information shown here was gathered via Google searches.)