Born and educated in Ontario, but based in Saskatchewan since 1971, Neil Richards (1949 - 2018) was an active participant in local, provincial and national gay organizations since the early 1970s. His activist work included participation in the Committee to Defend Doug Wilson in 1975, the organization of the 1976 convention of the National Gay Rights Coalition in Saskatoon, and many of the earliest AIDS awareness efforts in Saskatchewan. In conjunction with his work at the University of Saskatchewan Library, he produced many exhibitions and public events concerning AIDS and gay history and life.

Edgar Mapletoft was born October 7, 1920 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. His father, John, and uncle, Charlie, homesteaded in the Fort Pitt District, just north of Lloydminster, on the north side of the North Saskatchewan River in 1911. His parents, John & Martha Mapletoft, had one son, Edgar, and a daughter, Mary Margaret. Edgar grew up and remained in the Fort Pitt District all his life. He attended the School of Agriculture in Saskatoon and in 1941 received his Diploma. Edgar married Florence Patricia Chapman on July 2, 1942 and they raised three sons on the Little Pipestone Ranch just a couple miles from their childhood homes. He died on April 1, 2006. Mr. Mapletoft was an authority on Simmental cattle. He first imported the breed to Canada in 1969 and was a successful breeder for several years. In 1983 he was given the Golden Book Award by the World Simmental Federation. Edgar Mapletoft was also passionate about history of the region he lived, especially the Fort Pitt, Frenchman's Butte and Onion Lake areas, the First Nations, the Métis and the Northwest Rebellion. Edgar always had a strong interest in the native heritage, especially as it applied to the history of the Northwest. He tape-recorded interviews with elders on the reserve who were children at the time of the Northwest Rebellion. His involvement with the Onion Lake First Nation ultimately led to his becoming an Honorary Chief. Mr. Mapletoft also became involved with the Frenchman's Butte Museum; planning, fund-raising and publicizing it. His real passion was telling the story of the Northwest. He and his wife, Pat, looked after the Fort Pitt Historical Campground for several years. After Pat passed away, he continued for awhile and then became involved with farm vacations and providing historical tours. His fame grew and people came from all over the country for his personalized tour.

Douglas and Novia Cole are residents of Saskatoon. Douglas Cole was a long-serving employee of the National Research Council on the University campus.

Carman Edgar Miller was born on October 11, 1907 in Milliken, Ontario. After graduating from high school in Markham, he enrolled at the University of Toronto and went on to earn three degrees: BA (1930), MA (1931), and PhD (1940). The Gertrude Davis Exchange Scholarship allowed Miller to study three semesters at Göttingen University in Germany in 1931-1932. He also spent 1934-1935 attending the Ontario College of Education. Dr. Miller taught at a number Toronto area high schools before accepting a post at the University of New Brunswick in 1941. He became Head of the Department prior coming to the University of Saskatchewan in 1946 as a Professor of Mathematics. He served as Head of the Department from 1964 until 1970. Professor Miller retired in 1973 and was named Professor Emeritus. Dr. Miller was active in the Saskatoon community as a supporter of the musical arts and also had a keen interest Slavic languages and literature. Miller was honorary president of the Saskatchewan Mathematics Teachers Society and was secretary-treasurer (1958-1960) and president (1962-1963) of the Faculty Club. He was also president of the Saskatoon branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA) and the Humanities Association of Canada. He died in Saskatoon on June 6, 1988 at the age of 80.

Sylvia Fedoruk was born in Canora, SK, to Annie Romaniuk and Theodore Fedoruk on May 5th, 1927. She attended school in Wroxton until the family moved to Ontario during World War II. There she graduated from high school at Walkerville Collegiate, after which her and her family moved back to Saskatchewan. She attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating with a B.A. (1949), then M.A. (1951) in Physics. She worked with Dr. Harold Johns developing the one of the world’s first Cobalt-60 units (the “cobalt bomb”) which was used in cancer treatment. She was a professor of Oncology at the U of S, and eventually the Director of Physics services at the Saskatoon Cancer Clinic, from which she retired in 1986.
Her life is composed of many firsts. She was the first woman to become a member of the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada (1973). First female chancellor at the U of S (1986-1989) , first Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor (1988-1994), and played in the first Diamond ‘D’ Championships (1961), which was the national curling tournament for women, which eventually became the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
For her entire life she was involved in sports, most notable curling, golf, baseball, basketball, track, and fishing. She has two Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame medals.
She was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (1986), made an Officer of the Order of Canada (1987), and was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (2009).
She travelled extensively for work and pleasure, and loved her dogs. Her dog Charli is featured in many of her official Lieutenant Governor portraits.
She passed away in 2012 at the age of 85.

Henry Taube was born in Neudorf, Saskatchewan in 1915. He attended Luther College in Regina; then received his B.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1935, followed by his M.Sc. in 1937. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley in 1940. Unable to obtain an academic position in Canada, he spent his entire professional career in the United States, and became a U.S. citizen in 1942. He served on the faculties at Berkeley (1940-41), Cornell University (1941-46), and the University of Chicago (1946-1961), before moving to Stanford University in 1961. Upon his retirement in 1986 he was named Professor Emeritus.

He published 380 articles and one book. A Royal Society of Canada obituary notice summarizes Taube’s scientific contributions: his “research interests were in both inorganic and organic chemistry: he established the foundations of oxidation – reduction reactions for both electron and atom transfer reactions. In a key paper in Chemical Reviews in 1952 he showed the all-important correlation of ligand exchange reactions and the electronic configuration of coordination compounds. His work has been central to many different fields such a electron transfer at semiconductor electrodes, chemiluminescence, solar energy conversion, photosynthesis, electron transfer in proteins, in colloids, in polymers, and others.” His Nobel Prize was awarded “for his work on the mechanisms of electron transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes.”
Taube received many honours and awards throughout his career, including the National Medal of Science (1977), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1983), the Robert A. Welch Foundation Award in Chemistry (1983), and the Priestly Medal (American Chemical Society, 1985). He was the first Canadian-born individual to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He also received honorary doctorates from nine universities in Canada, the U.S., Hungary and Sweden; and was a fellow or honorary member of several academic societies, including the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Canada and the Royal Society of London.
He died on 26 November 2005, survived by his wife Mary Alice Taube (married 1952), and by his children Linda, Karl and Heinrich.

In 1944 Emrys Jones was appointed the first professor of Drama at the University of Saskatchewan (as well as the first full time professor of Drama at a commonwealth university). He remained the Head of the Department until 1971 and retired 2 years later.

Doris Hillis was born at Epsom in Surrey, England. She was educated in England and came to Canada in 1955 where she taught schools in Langenburg and Winnipeg. Doris completed an M.A. at the University of Manitoba, and went on to lecture at the University of British Columbia while continuing studies in literature. In 1960, the family acquired a grain farm near Macklin, Saskatchewan, where Doris spent most of her writing career, and where she and her husband, William, raised their only child, Sandy. In 1967 Doris became involved in Adult Education through the Kerrobert Unit Board, and later was appointed a Trustee of Prairie West Community College for two terms (1975-1981).
Doris began writing in 1977, her primary interest being poetry, although she also produces drama, short stories, non-fiction articles, profiles, children’s literature and book reviews. Her work has been published in literary magazines and broadcast on CBC, and she has received rewards and grants from the Saskatchewan Writers Guild and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. In her major nonfiction works, Voices and Visions (1985) and Plainspeaking (1988), Doris interviews a number of significant Saskatchewan writers, including: Edna Alford, Elizabeth Allen, Lorna Crozier (Uher), Robert Currie, Mick Burrs, Gary Hyland, Lois Simmie, Terrence Heath , John Hicks , Patrick Lane, Ken Mitchell , Brenda Riches , Glen Sorestad , Gertrude Story, Anne Szumagalski , Guy Vanderhaege, Byrna Barclay , Elizabeth Brewster , Sharon Butala , Maria Campbell , David Carpenter, Rex Deverell, Joan Givner , Barbara Sapergia, Andrew Suknaski and Geoffrey Ursell.
Doris has also hosted a number of readings and workshops for elementary, high school, and adult groups and she was a central figure of Macklin’s Literary Club. She is a member of the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild, the Saskatchewan Playwright’s Centre, the Writer’s Union of Canada, and the League of Canadian Poets.
Doris has also had an interest in puppetry. She was a member of numerous puppetry associations worldwide, including UNIMA and the Ontario Puppetry Association. In an effort to promote the dramatic arts in her home town, Doris established the Macklin Puppeteers, a group of Macklin children who performed for about six years in Macklin, Provost, and the Saskatoon Public Library “Christopher Robin Room”. She passed away on July 26th, 2020.

Elmer Driedger was born in Osler Saskatchewan in 1913 to a Mennonite family where he learned to speak both German and English. He began classes at the University of Saskatchewan in 1929, earning a BA (1932) and LL.B. (1934). He received a scholarship to Marburg University and later attended Kiel University in 1935, although political developments in Germany forced him to return to Canada before the war. After returning to Saskatchewan, he briefly lectured in company law at the University of Saskatchewan, before going on to pursue his twenty-five year career in the federal Department of Justice, during which he became a leading expert in statutory interpretation, and was eventually made Deputy Minister. He later worked as a professor of law at the University of Ottawa. During his time at the University of Saskatchewan, he participated in various activities, including soccer, hockey, and the debate club.

Ida Thompson lived in Saskatchewan and held various government and community positions during the early part of the 20th century including Principal Clerk in charge of land registers and technical staff of the School Lands Branch and editor of the Topographical Survey of Canada. She was a civil servant and author.

Mrs. Maude Palmer of Aylmer Ontario had landholdings in Griffiths and Colgate Saskatchewan, managed from afar by her agent John Leonard.

Maurice Yacowar earned a BA in English from the University of Alberta, Calgary campus, in 1962, an MA from the University of Alberta, and PhD at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham in 1968. He taught at Brock University, where he helped establish Canada’s first Film Studies degree program. He had an administrative position with the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, and returned to the University of Calgary in 1995 as a professor of English. Upon his retirement, he was named Professor Emeritus. Yacowar was an avid art collector and has donated some of his collection to the University of Saskatchewan.

Michaud had considerable experience as an actor, director, and playwright, in addition to working for CBC Radio-Canada. In October 1993, Clausson and Michaud co-founded Oscar Wilde & Company, a theatre group in Regina, the only gay theatre company on the Canadian prairies. Its primary mandate was to produce plays about AIDS and gay issues, as well as other important social and political issues. [With material from Clausson [email] and Michaud, “Introducing Oscar Wilde & Company”].

Peter Stevens was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England in 1927. He received his B.A. (honors) in English, Cert.Ed. 1951 from Nottingham University, his M.A. from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, and his Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1968. He taught English at the U of S from 1964-1969 and then he taught English at the University of Windsor until his retirement in 1993. He edited the Canadian Forum and the Literary Review of Canada. He passed away in 2009.