Fonds F2609 - Eldon Woolliams fonds

Eldon Mattison Woolliams, 1916-2001, was born near Rosetown, Saskatchewan and was raised on a prairie farm. He worked in agricultural and construction jobs to pay for his education as a teacher at the Saskatoon Normal School. He taught near Zealandia, Saskatchewan before receiving a Leonard Foundation scholarship to study arts and law at the University of Saskatchewan. He articled in Regina, then practiced in Melfort and Tisdale before moving to Calgary, Alberta in 1952.

Woolliams founded his own law firm which became Woolliams, Korman, Moore and Wittman. In his practice, Woolliams had many cases establishing precedent and he was often reported in legal journals. He was elected to the House of Commons as the Progressive Convervative Member of Parliament (MP) for Bow River in 1958 and won eight consecutive elections until his retirement in 1980. In 1968 his constituency was redrawn and named Calgary North. He was Conservative justice critic and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. He served on the executive of the national Progressive Conservative party from 1960 to 1966.

During his life he was active with the national Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade and Jaycees in Calgary. He was also a Shriner and a Mason. He married Erva Leola Jones, 1922-2012, and they had two children, Elda Lynn (Rodger) and Brian Mattison.