Fonds F2489 - Willison family fonds

Olaf Willison, 1860-1944, was born in Malmo Skove, Sweden and moved to Gravenhurst, Ontario in 1886. His wife, Augusta Peterson Willison, 1862-1944, was born in Lyjung, Sweden and moved to Muskoka, Ontario in 1885. They married in Ontario, and moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1900. Olaf took out a homestead just northeast of the city and farmed until his death. The Willisons had six daughters, Anne Mathilda (Stirling), 1889-1978, Ellen C. (Hall), 1891-1980, Mary Charlotte, 1894-1988, Hilda May, 1898-1984, Evelyn Augusta, 1902-1993, and Gladys Alberta, 1904-1991.

In 1915, Augusta and the daughters moved into Calgary. Anne and Ellen trained as nurses at the Holy Cross Hospital, while Mary, Hilda, Evelyn and Gladys all became teachers. Anne worked as a nurse for the Calgary Board of Education until her 1938 marriage to Will Stirling. Ellen worked as a nurse until 1925 when she married Victor Hall and moved to Idaho, USA. The Halls had one daughter, Margaret (Herzog), 1932- . Mary and Hilda taught in Calgary schools for over 30 years, and both retired in 1959. They shared the family home for most of their adult lives. Evelyn and Gladys both attended the University of Alberta. Evelyn taught in the Crowsnest Pass, at Morley, and at the School for the Deaf in Edmonton. Gladys taught in both Calgary and Edmonton. Both were active in Moral Re-Armament (originally the Oxford Group). Both were also authors: Evelyn wrote a biography of Pauline Johnson, while Gladys wrote stories about pioneer life in Alberta, and a biography of Chief Walking Buffalo. Evelyn retired to Kelowna where she shared a home with Anne until Anne's death. After Mary and Hilda died, Evelyn and Gladys shared the family home in Calgary.