Francis Winspear
Dr Francis George Winspear, OC, FCA, LLD1902-1997
Professor of Accountancy
Dean of the School of Business
Inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence: 1995
Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada: 1967
Francis George Winspear was born May 30, 1902 in Bermingham, England to parents Anna Jane (Dewes) and William Willan Winspear.
After coming to Canada from England with his family as a young child, Dr Winspear grew up in a prairie hamlet south of Strathmore. He attended high school in Calgary and graduated at the age of 14. Too young for university, he opted to work four years at the Calgary branch of the Bank of Toronto, take correspondence courses from Queen's University, and eventually article with Touche and Co. He earned a CA (Chartered Accountant) degree from Calgary and then an RIA (Registered Investment Advisor) degree from Edmonton.
In 1925, Winspear was an accountant with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co and later became a partner in the accounting firm of Winspear, Hamilton, Anderson & Co. During his 60-year business and academic career, Winspear was president and CEO of 19 companies, with interests in such diverse industries as oil, steel, lumber, mining, aircraft and airlines, textiles, finance, and real estate development. He served on the Board of Directors of 14 other public companies. When he retired in 1965, the accounting practice he had established in Edmonton in 1930 had become national in scope. Its merger with Deloitte Haskins Sells in 1980 created the third largest accounting firm in Canada.
President of Winham Investments Ltd and founder of the Winspear Foundation, Winspear was a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. He was astonishingly generous to an array of culture, education, and social service groups. The Winspear Foundation and the Winspear Fund substantially support the Edmonton Art Gallery.
Dr Winspear felt strongly that music is part of an educated man's well-being. He was associated with the founding of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in 1952 and was an associate founder of the Edmonton Opera. Winspear's $6-million donation to the Edmonton Concert Hall Foundation was the largest donation by an individual to a Canadian arts organization and made possible the development of the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, Edmonton's world-class concert hall.
Winspear was a professor of accounting at the University of Alberta for over 20 years, and he served as director of the University's School of Commerce, and dean of the Business School. The professor emeritus gave generously to the University, becoming the first Distinguished Benefactor of the Faculty of Business and the inaugural Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Arts. His philanthropy included a large donation to the business library, which is named in his honour, and the endowment of the Francis G. Winspear Chair in Professional Accounting, the first chair at the University funded by a private donor.
Winspear was a member of the Chartered Accountants of Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba. A member of the Edmonton and Alberta Chambers of Commerce, he served both as president in 1950. He was also a member of the Economic Council of Canada.
Winspear received numerous honours and accolades, including a 1958 Human Relations Award from the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, a 1965 Alumni Golden Jubilee Award, a 1967 Medal of Service from the Order of Canada, and a 1982 Canadian Business Leader Award. In 1984, Winspear was inducted into Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta’s Business Hall of Fame, and in 1994 becamea recipient of the University of Alberta Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award. As well, Winspear was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967 and a Member of the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1995.
Winspear married Bessie Brooks Watchorn in 1927; they had two sons, Claude Willan and William Watchorn. Winspear was remarried in 1980 to Harriet Snowball.
Winspear passed away January 28, 1997 at his home in Edmonton, Alberta. He held honorary Doctor of Laws degrees (LLD honoris causa) from the Universities of Alberta (1951) and Victoria.