Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Ancestors 
Daughter of Richard Ellis Proctor
and Estella May (Cowan) Proctor
Sister of
Ruby Evelyn (Proctor) Sneed and Eudora Pearl (Proctor) Brown
Wife of
[private husband (1910s - 2010s)]
[children unknown]
Died
at age 104
in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Profile last modified
| Created 23 Jan 2022
This page has been accessed 170 times.
Biography
Eleanor (Proctor) Collins is Notable.
Eleanor (Proctor) Collins was born in Alberta, Canada.
Eleanor (Proctor) Collins is/was a significant British Columbian.
Eleanor (Proctor) Collins was a centenarian, living to age 104.
Canadian First Lady of Jazz (blues, gospel, pop). She was the 1st female Canadian singer to have her own weekly variety show on CBC and the the 1st black host on TV in North America. A civic leader and pioneer in the development of British Columbia's music industry.
Born Elnora Ruth Proctor on November 21, 1919 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, she was the daughter of Richard Ellis Proctor and Estella May Cowan.
She married Richard Collins on March 31, 1942 at the Court House in Vancouver, British Columbia. They were both 22 years old at the time and he was a sleeping car porter with the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway). Witnesses were Ruby Proctor and Herman Thomas Risby (sp?). They were the parents of 4 children and when he died in 2012, they had been married for 70 years.[1]
Eleanor Collins died at the age of 104 on March 3, 2024 at Surrey Memorial Hospital in Surrey, British Columbia. [2][3]
Honours
- 1986 - Distinguished Centennial Pioneer Award
- 1992 - BC Entertainment Hall of Fame Star
- BC Black Historical Society Award
- Alberta Black Cultural Research Society Award
- 2006 - ACTRA Sam Payne Award
- 2014 - Order of Canada
- 2014 - Black Canadian Awards Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2021 - Commemorative Canada Post stamp
Sources
- ↑ Marriage Certificate for Elnora Ruth Proctor & Richard Collins
- ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/eleanor-collins-obituary-1.7132681
- ↑ https://globalnews.ca/news/10332428/jazz-legend-eleanor-collins-passes-away/
- 1921 Census: "1921 Census of Canada"
Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 5; Census Place: Edmonton City, Edmonton East, Alberta; Page Number: 16; Line Number: 12
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8991 #7139919 (accessed 7 March 2024)
Elnora Proctor (1/12), single daughter, in household of Richard Proctor (32) in Edmonton East, Alberta, Canada. Born in Alberta.
- "Canada Census, 1931", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:65LQ-H5QM : Sun Jan 07 19:35:53 UTC 2024), Entry for Richard Proctor and Estella Proctor, June 1, 1931.
- Electoral Register: "Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980"
Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Voters Lists, Federal Elections, 1935-1980; Reference Number: M-4910
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 2983 #67782063 (accessed 7 March 2024)
Name: Mrs Elenora Collins; Gender: Female; Residence Date: 1953; Residence Place: Burnaby; Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada; Electoral District: Burnaby-Coquitlam.
- Electoral Register: "Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980"
Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Voters Lists, Federal Elections, 1935-1980; Reference Number: M-4962
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 2983 #50809087 (accessed 7 March 2024)
Name: Eleanor Collins; Residence Date: 1957; Residence Place: Burnaby; Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada; Electoral District: Burnaby-Coquitlam.
SEE ALSO:
- Wikipedia:Eleanor_Collins
- Wikidata: Item Q56285587, en:Wikipedia
- https://www.olliequinn.ca/blogs/news/a-conversation-with-eleanor-collins
- https://www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada/meet-eleanor-collins-canada-s-first-lady-of-jazz-1.4950975
- https://bcblackhistory.ca/eleanor-collins/
- https://bcentertainmenthalloffame.com/collins-eleanor/
- https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/blogs/personal/perspectives/stamp-celebrates-eleanor-collins/
- https://vanalogue.wordpress.com/2019/11/20/happy-100th-birthday-eleanor/
- https://vanalogue.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/eleanor-collins-vancouvers-first-lady-of-jazz/
- http://awmp.athabascau.ca/profiles/ecollins/
- https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/eleanor-collins-emc
- https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-10595
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/eleanor-collins-100-1.5365600
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/eleanor-collins-obituary-1.7132681
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Featured National Park champion connections: Eleanor is 19 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 24 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 21 degrees from George Catlin, 19 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 25 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 21 degrees from George Grinnell, 28 degrees from Anton Kröller, 20 degrees from Stephen Mather, 22 degrees from Kara McKean, 17 degrees from John Muir, 22 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 28 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
P > Proctor | C > Collins > Elnora Ruth (Proctor) Collins
Categories: Edmonton, Alberta | 1921 Census of Canada, Alberta | 1931 Census of Canada, Alberta | Vancouver, British Columbia | Singers | Jazz Musicians | Television History | Members of the Order of Canada | Surrey, British Columbia | Canada, Notables | Notables | Centenarians