Wilbert Ross Thatcher (1917 - 1971)

Born 24 May 1917 in Neville, Saskatchewan, Canada [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died 22 Jul 1971 at age 54 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

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Preceded by
Woodrow Lloyd

10th Premier of Saskatchewan
May 22, 1964 – June 30, 1971

Succeeded by
Allan Blakeney

Biography

Ross Thatcher is Notable.

Ross Thatcher was born in Saskatchewan.

Wilbert Ross Thatcher, son of Wilbert Thatcher & Marjorie Belle Price, was born on 24 May 1917 in Neville, Saskatchewan, Canada.^[1]

Ross spent his early years in the Village of Limerick, Saskatchewan where his father owned a hardware store.^[2][3] Prior to 1931 the family would relocate to Moose Jaw, where his father opened a hardware store. In 1931, Ross was the eldest of four children in the home and was attending school.

Ross graduated high school at the age of 15 and would attend Queen's University, graduating from there at the age of 18. He would accept an assistant position at Canadian Packers in Toronto.^[4] On January 20, 1938, while still employed by Canadian Packers, Ross Thatcher would marry Adrah Leone (Peggy) McNaughton.^[5] Like Ross, Peggy had grown up in Moose Jaw. Their son, Colin, was born later that year in Toronto. In 1939 the family would return to Moose Jaw to assist Ross' father in running the family hardware business.^[6]

In 1944, Wilbert Thatcher (Sr) would sell his hardware store in Moose Jaw to Ross and his brother, Clarke, who would sell his share of the business to Ross in 1949. Ross would later expand his holdings, purchasing stores in Saskatoon and Regina.^[6]

In 1942, Ross Thatcher was elected to Moose Jaw City council, serving for two years.^[4] He would subsequently join the CCF Party and successfully won the federal riding on Moose Jaw in 1945, 1949 and 1953. Growing dissatisfied with the CCF's party's position on Crown Corporations he left the party in 1955, first serving as an independent and then joining the Liberal party. In 1957 he would debate the leader of the CCF, T C Douglas, and in that year ran unsuccesfully as Liberal candidate for the Assiniboia riding. In 1959 Ross Thatcher became leader of the provincial Liberal party and in 1964 he led his party to a Liberal majority in the province - the first time the Liberal party had ruled a province west of Ontario in 20 years. His party was defeated in the 1971 provincial election by the NDP party, led by Allan Blakeney.^[4]

Three weeks after the election, Wilbert Ross Thatcher died suddenly at his home in Regina, on July 22, 1971. He was buried at Rosedale Cemetery in Moose Jaw.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: "Web: Saskatchewan, Canada, Birth Index, 1875-1919"
   Government of Canada; Canada; Geneology Index Searches; URL: http://genealogy.ehealthsask.ca/vsgs_srch.aspx
   Ancestry ca Record 9191 #158822 (accessed 3 July 2023)
   Wilbert Ross Thatcher born on 24 May 1917, son of Wilbert Thatcher & Marjorie Belle Price, in Neville, Saskatchewan, Canada.
2. ↑ 1921 Census: "1921 Census of Canada"
   Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 155; Census Place: 155, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan; Page Number: 2; Line Number: 48
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8991 #7566166 (accessed 3 July 2023)
   Ross Thatcher (4), single son, in household of Hibbert Thatcher (33) in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada. Born in Saskatchewan.
3. ↑ 1926 Census: "Canada, Prairie Provinces Census, 1926"
   citing Census, Willow Bunch No. 42, Saskatchewan, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa.
   FamilySearch Record: QP2K-VJP7 (accessed 3 July 2023)
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-C395-G9PF-F Image number 00100
   Ross Thatcher (9), single son, in household of Wilbert Thatcher (38) in Willow Bunch No. 42, Saskatchewan, Canada. Born in Saskatchewan, Canada.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Quiring, Brett; Wilbert Ross Thatcher; accessed on The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan website 07-03-2023 Thatcher Bio
5. ↑ Marriage: "Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1938"
   Archives of Ontario; Archives of Ontario; Registrations of Marriages; Reel: 1-666
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 7921 #24717729 (accessed 3 July 2023)
   Wilbert Ross Thatcher (20) marriage to Adrah Leone McNaughton on 20 Jan 1938 in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Eisler, Dale; Rumours of glory : Saskatchewan & the Thatcher years; 1987 Edmonton; Hurtig Publishing; accessed on archive.org 07-03-2003 Link to Page 24 of Biography
7. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #226297589 (accessed 3 July 2023)
   Memorial page for Wilbert Ross Thatcher (24 May 1917-22 Jul 1971), citing Rosedale Cemetery, Moose Jaw, Moose Jaw Census Division, Saskatchewan, Canada (plot: Bl 23 Lot 17 Gr 8); Maintained by Nana (contributor 49641857).

• The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Wikipedia:W. Ross Thatcher
• Grave Sites of Saskatchewan Premiers, Government of Saskatchewan, 2006. Pg. 16.
• Thatcher, Ross and Peggie, 1917-1988; biographical sketch as part of Archives; accessed on Saskatchewan Archives website 07-03-2023 Link to Fonds Description and Bio