JOHN MICHAEL BUMSTED (JACK)

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JOHN MICHAEL BUMSTED

It is with profound sadness that the family of Professor Jack Bumsted announces his death, quietly and peacefully at home, on January 25, 2020.
Jack was born in White Plains, New York, December 12, 1938. He received his BA (Hons) summa cum laude from Tufts College in 1959. He received his PhD from Brown University in 1965. As a professor, he taught at a number of universities, including Simon Fraser, where he was on the founding faculty, as well as McMaster, and University of Edinburgh, before joining the faculty of St. John's College at the University of Manitoba in 1980, where he would finish his career in 2007. During his time at the University of Manitoba, he held a number of administrative positions, including Dean of Studies of St. John's College, and Director of the Institute of the Humanities. His academic career took him across the country and the world, including Germany, Japan, India, Britain, and the United States of America.
The author of over 30 academic and popular books on Canadian history, as well as numerous pamphlets, articles, and papers, Jack received many honours for his work. He was named to the Royal Society of Canada in 2003. The academic interest in Lord Selkirk, that originally brought him to Manitoba, resulted in the publication in 2008 of "Lord Selkirk: A Life", which received a number of awards, including the Leila-Commons Award, the Alexander Isbister Award, and the JW Dafoe Book Prize.
Jack was an active member of his community, involved in his church, his children's sporting activities, and a regular speaker at community gatherings on a range of topics. Jack loved crime fiction, popular music, sports (particularly the Red Sox and the Patriots), and spending time with his family. His love of books led him to a second career as a bookseller, and proprietor of the Whodunit Bookshop on Lilac Street, where he was often to be found, and always available to offer advice on any topic.
Jack, predeceased by his son, Jonathan; is survived by his wife, Wendy; his children, Carla, Geraint, Hannah, Sian, and Michael; and his grandchildren, Jeremy, Thomas, Oliver, Joenna, Henry, Lily, Bram, and Penelope.
A service will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2020, at 11:00 a.m., at St. George's Anglican Church, Crescentwood, 168 Wilton Street at Grosvenor Avenue.
The family would like to acknowledge the effort and care of his home care workers and nurses, particularly Manuel, Abdul, Raoul, Henry, and Senya, who provided tremendous help to him in his later life.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name, to St. John's College (92 Dysart Road), to endow a scholarship for Indigenous scholars of history, or to the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre (WASAC).

THOMSON FUNERAL HOME
(204) 783-7211
Condolences may be sent to
www.thomsonfuneralchapel.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 01, 2020