Anna Denby, a Thompson pioneer who served as a city councillor from 1970 through 1977, and was also an active volunteer throughout the community, died Feb. 6 in Winnipeg at the age of 81.
"She was a very honest, hard-working member of council," recalled former Thompson mayor Tom Farrell, who worked with Denby on council. "She didn't really have pet causes or anything like that, she only wanted to improve life in Thompson."
Even before entering public life, Denby was well known throughout the community. "Due to her participation in community affairs, she needs very little introduction to the residents of Thompson," reads an election-season biography of Denby from the Oct. 20, 1970, Thompson Citizen.
That participation included extensive involvement with the Thompson branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, helping set up the Legion Ladies Auxiliary and serving as president of that group, and also working to create the Thompson Walk-In Blood Bank, for which she acted as convener for several years.
"City council had a committee that had to do with the health of the community, and it worked closely with Thompson General Hospital," noted Leona Mayer, who worked at City Hall when Denby was active on council. "She was on that committee. She was involved in anything that had to do with the health of the community - not in a development aspect, but the social health of the community."
"She was one of the pioneers in our community," noted Mayor Tim Johnston, who called Denby's death "a touch of sadness for the City of Thompson. Anna was a very strong community member and certainly an outspoken leader, active in both municipal and provincial politics, and very active in the Legion here in Thompson."
Denby's volunteer efforts also extended to the rec centre, where she could often be found baking - teaching other volunteers her recipe for cinnamon buns, which is still used to this day.
Baking is one of the activities most closely associated with Denby. "My fondest memory isn't the politics or any of those sorts of things, it was the absolutely fantastic baked buns that she used to make and bring over," said Johnston. "Anyone who was at a catered event in the early days will remember those."
"When it came budget time - as it is now they would have long, long meetings - she would bring in supper," recalled Mayer. "On the days she brought in supper, she would also bring in a great big bag of fresh, homemade, what she called air buns - they were huge things, and she would bring them in with a pound of butter and a jar of jam. Every time she walked through the door with those buns, everyone would migrate to the coffee room."
Denby was first elected to council in 1970, becoming just the second female councillor in Thompson's history - following in the footsteps of Grace Powers, who was elected in 1968 and stayed on council until 1970, choosing not to run for a second term. She was followed by Bev Sawicki, elected in 1977 when Denby unsuccessfully challenged for the mayor's seat, and there has been a female presence on council ever since.
"I remember her as one of those people that I grew up watching," said Johnston. "I'm often asked why I have such an interest in politics - Anna was a very good family friend, and there were many afternoons I spent in my living room being forced to listen to the debates of a number of the pioneers. They were quite lively and certainly educational."
"She was a very generous, warm woman," said Mayer. "She was always very pleasant to deal with, very hard-working and involved."
"When she got involved in something, she committed to it," recalled Farrell. "She wasn't someone who just joined to say they belonged to something. When she got involved, she would step up to the plate, become involved and become one of the real workers."
She also had a short spell in provincial politics, carrying the Progressive Conservative banner in Thompson for the 1973 election, during which she finished second to New Democrat Ken Dillen in a close three-way race which also included Blain Johnston, father of the current mayor.
Denby moved to Thompson with her second husband, Bing Denby, a diamond driller who Farrell remembered as "a quiet but good man." Her first husband, George Felton, died young in 1950, believed to be as a result of injuries sustained fighting overseas.
The Denby family lived for decades on the corner of Beaver Crescent and Deerwood Drive, and it wasn't until after Bing's death in 1992 that Anna sold the house and moved to Winnipeg to be with the rest of her family.
