Albert & Betty Walters Fund

Albert Walters

Albert Walters

 

Betty Walters

Betty Walters

Albert Edward Walters was born in England in September, 1912 which, he often noted, was the same year that the Titanic went down.  His mother died when he was four years old, and circumstances were such that at age 8 he continued his schooling at Princess Alice Orphanage and School in Birmingham.

At age 16, he had the opportunity to immigrate either to Australia or Canada.  He chose Canada, and left two brothers and a sister behind in England.  Many of the immigrants arriving in Canada from England were hired out to local farmers and, in Hamilton, they were picked up at Gage House.  The local farmer who hired Albert did not give him a very welcome introduction to Canada.  He was introduced to the farmer’s family as “this is what we got” – an introduction that Albert never forgot.  However, in subsequent years, he worked at other farms where he was well treated and made lasting friendships.

These were depression years and Albert realized that he needed to do something to advance himself, so he enrolled in a correspondence course in electronics and at a later date he took a course in radio out of Toronto.

In 1937, Albert was introduced to Elizabeth (Betty) King by her brother, Alex.  This connection provided him with a “ready-made” family to help replace the siblings he had left behind in England.  Betty, who was born in Northern Ireland, had immigrated to Canada in 1926.

At the outbreak of WWII, Albert enlisted for service in the RCAF, having already been a member of the Reserve.  He served with the 119th Bomber Squadron of Hamilton.  He married Betty in 1939 and was posted first to Vancouver and then to P.E.I. and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia for the duration of the war.

Albert had always been interested in electronics of all kinds, so after the war he and Betty returned to Hamilton where he worked in the radio department of Westinghouse.  Then, in 1949, he decided to open up his own shop.  He and Betty established Dun-Ham Radio and Appliance Store in Dundas.  By the time they opened the store, Albert had already built his own television set, and their home was well equipped with many electrical systems.  A neighbor once observed that “next thing he will have is an electronic wheelbarrow!”

Albert and Betty operated their store very successfully until 1979 when they retired to their home in Dundas.  Betty died after a short illness in 1995 at age 81, and Albert died in 2009 at age 97.  The Albert and Betty Walters Fund has been established to provide access to education for persons in need of assistance, preferably in the Dundas area.

United Nations Association, Hamilton & District Bursary Award Fund

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Organization, the Hamilton & District Branch of the UN Association of Canada endowed an annual bursary for a McMaster University graduate student to undertake field training in remote areas of study among other cultures.

It is hoped that such direct experience will influence the recipients’ future commitment to proactive support of United Nations goals in their professional and person lives.

Excerpt from 1994-1995 Annual Report

Howard & Edna Tugman Memorial Fund

Howard Tugman was General Manager of a Studebaker dealership, Community Motors Ltd., until his retirement in 1961. The following year, he was appointed a Judge in the Hamilton Citizenship Court.

Mr. Tugman was particularly interested in disabled children; he raised funds through the Shriner’s Club and helped to establish the Cerebral Palsy Centre. He was also active in the Red Cross and the Hamilton Rotary Club, where he served as President.

His gift to the Foundation was made in memory of his late wife Edna Pearl (Patterson).

 Excerpt from 1989-1990 Annual Report

Mabel Beatrice Studd Fund

Music, books and protecting the environment topped the list of Mable Studd’s passions. She volunteered to be treasurer for the Bach Elgar Choir where she met William Malcolm who became her personal lawyer. “Mabel contributed to several organizations, she was a very shrewd investor, and she had a good sense of humour,” Mr. Malcolm recalled of the former secretary of the Union Drawn Steel and John Deere. Mabs, as she was known to family and friends, lived to be 82, in recent years in an apartment at First Place.

Staff in both the Royal Botanical Gardens and Hamilton Community Foundation offices remember Miss Studd as an attentive, loyal and generous donor who shunned public recognition for her contributions.

After her death in September 1997, the Foundation was notified of a bequest to be divided between the Community Fund (for general charitable purposes) and the Ray Lowes Environmental Fund (for the preservation and protection of the environment.)

Excerpt from 1997-1998 Annual Report

Marjorie Stewart Fund

Marjorie Stewart was a homemaker for most of her life, although she had a brief wartime career as a bookkeeper. She was a lifetime member of the Women’s Auxiliary of the St. Thomas (Anglican) Church and was active in the Order of the Eastern Star.

Excerpt from 1986-1987 Annual Report

Rosalynde Fuller Osborne Stearn Fund

One of Canada’s leading puppeteers in the 1920′s and 30′s, Rosalynde collected puppets from around the world and honed her skills as an apprentice with an accomplished puppet master in the United States. For many years, she entertained neighbourhood children in a studio and puppet stage which she built behind the family home of Turner Avenue.

Mrs. Stearn was also a noted golfer and talented watercolour artist. She was married to the late Clement H. Stearn, a classics professor at McMaster University, and died at the age of 101 after being in a coma for 11 years.

Excerpt from 1990-1991 Annual Report

Leanora M. Spicer Fund

Leonora Spicer’s bequests to the Hamilton Foundation, Salvation Army, Scott Mission, United Church (for medical missionary work) and Red Cross exemplify her lifelong concern for the disadvantaged.

Born on a farm near Lowville, she trained as a Registered Nurse at the Hamilton General Hospital and worked there until she married Harry S. Spicer, remembered as a successful Hamilton investment counsel.

Mrs. Spicer also supported the Royal Botanical Gardens creating arrangements for their sales and providing funds to develop a sheltered garden, known as “Spicer Court”, at the south entrance of the Headquarters.

Excerpt from 1989-1990 Annual Report

Grace J. Smith Fund

Grace Smith was a direct descendant of one of our district’s first settlers, Jacob Smith, a United Empire Loyalist who built his log cabin on a Crown Grant in the present Ryckman’s Corners area. Her mother’s Ashbaugh ancestors built the first local redware pottery in the early 1800′s in the vicinity of Main West and Arkell.
Grace was keenly interested in the local U.E.L. Association and served as Secretary for many years. An active member of Erskine Presbyterian Church, Miss Smith taught nearby at Strathcona School, as well as at Queen Mary, Stinson and Dalewood Schools over a period of 40 years.

Excerpt from 1989-1990 Annual Report

Eleanor M. Smith Fund

Eleanor Maude Smith was born in Toronto and lived in several small Southern Ontario communities prior to settling in Hamilton in 1925. Predeceased by both her husband Alfred Charles (1951), and her only son Douglas (1975), Mrs. Smith, in spite of failing health, maintained a keen interest in her garden and generously supported the work of church, health and environmental organizations.

Excerpt from 1990-1991 Annual Report

Dr. Harry Cameron Robinson

Dedicated, compassionate and even-tempered are some of the qualities Agnes Robinson uses to describe her husband, Dr. Harry Robinson. The pair met at the Hamilton General Hospital where she was a physiotherapist working with polio patients. He was a young intern who had graduated from Queen’s University in 1930 and went on to complete post-graduate studies in New York and London, England before establishing a practice at 908 King Street E. in Hamilton. Over his 50 year career, Agnes recalls many a phone call in the middle of the night and Dr. Robinson would be off to deliver a baby or make a house call.

“He was always interested in helping the less fortunate and his generosity endeared him to people.” An avid rose gardener, Dr. Robinson sported a fresh rose in his lapel each morning. Daughter Lynda Cahill remembers her father as a quiet man, loved by all and with a tremendous bedside manner. “He was 91 when he died and 500 people attended his funeral. We heard many wonderful stories about him that we never knew,” she added.

Dr. Robinson, a Hamilton native who cared for the health and well-being of so many of its residents until he retired at 80, remembered the Foundation with a gift in his will.

Excerpt from 1995-1996 Annual Report