Mary Coyne Rowell Jackman
1904 – 1994
GCLJ, D.Litt.S. YWCA Woman of Distinction, LL.D.
An active Methodist/United Church member and passionate believer in the Social Gospel, Mary Jackman promoted both ecumenical and international awareness and cooperation. A scholar and collector of Virginia Woolf and Canadian Art, she was a generous benefactor to artists, libraries, and galleries. She supported women’s education, culture and legal rights. Mother and protector of Henry (Hal), Eric, Edward and Nancy Ruth.
Mary’s commitment to Metropolitan United Church was life-long. Her social concern resulted in the nursery school for local children in the 1930s, her artistic sensibility contributed to the Dayspring Festivals & the Summer In The Park program. From her constant work in the Women’s Missionary Society to her war wok, from her social service work with the Women’s Association to her administrative work as a trustee and board member, Mary combined her passionate belief in Christianity, ecumenism & the Social Gospel, with innovative & practical measures to keep faith rooted in the real world.
Dayspring from on high hath visited us.
Over her lifetime, Mary Coyne Rowell Jackman was involved in the following organizations:
CGIT (Canadian Girls in Training) 1915-1917, Member
Head Girl, King’s Hall, Compton, 1920-1921
University Literary Society, Victoria College, 1921-1925, Member
Student Christian Movement, 1921-1925, Member
Bachelor of Arts, Victoria University, 1925
WSCF (World Student Christian Federation), 1925-1990, Member
Women’s Association, 1930-1935, President, Metropolitan United Church
CIIA (Canadian Institute of International Affairs), Founder, Women’s Committee, 1931-1975
Bond Street Nursery School, 1935-1937, President and Co-founder
Rosedale Public Home and School Association, President late 1930’s.
This is where Mary mt Louise Comfort and Charles Comfort (later head of the National Gallery of Canada and organizer of the cottage murals from the collage to the gallery).
Rosedale Conservative Association, member and supporter throughout her adult life, as were her husband and 3 children
Heliconian Club, 1930’s-1940’s, Member
Women’s Red Cross Committee, 1940-1947, President, Metropolitan United Church
YWCA National, assisted in many ways, supporting YWCA staff from Eastern Europe whose work was transferred to Canada because of WWII, from 1940-1947
Toronto Women’s Art Association, 1930’s-1940’s, Member
Women’s Committee, Art Gallery of Toronto, (Ontario), 1948-mid-1960’s
The Picture Loan Society, 1938-1960’s, started her art collection
Wymilwood, Victoria University, Building Committee, head of the modern furnishing committee, 1950’s
Board Metropolitan United Church, 1950’s
Virginia Woolf Collection was started in the 1950’s after the war
Studied to be an art critic at University of Toronto, 1952
Ecumenical Institute of Canada 1950’s-1980’s, Member
World Council of Churches, 1950’s-1980’s, Member
Worship Committee, Metropolitan United Church, 1960’s
Clark Institute of Psychiatry, 1960’s, Volunteer
Leader in ecumenical studies between Catholic and Protestant Canadians in the 1960’s-1990, through the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. MCTJ became a Dame Grand Cross of the Order
Dayspring Festival, Metropolitan United Church, 1970’s, Organizer
Out of the Cold, 1970’s, Volunteer
Summer in the Park, 1970’s, Volunteer
Board of Trustees, Metropolitan United Church, 1980-1985
Jackman Foundation, President, 1980-1985
Doctor of Sacred Letters, Victoria University, 1984
Woman of Distinction Award, Toronto YWCA, 1988
Doctorate of Laws, University of Toronto 1992
Producer and Director: Laura Sky
Director of Photography: Jim Aquila, CSC
Editor: Cathy Gulkin
Sound Recordist: Ross Redfern
Original Music Composed by David Wall
Sound Mix: Daniel Pellerin
Production Manager: Natalie Levesque
Voice and Dramatic Portrayal of Mary Coyne Rowell Jackman: Linda Griffiths
Dramatic Readings: John Jarvis, Margaret Lamarre
Narration: Laura Sky
Script Consultant/ Print and Stills Research: Arlene Moscovitch
Archival Research: Tanya Fleet
Post-Production Supervisor: Cameron Tingley
Assistant Editor: Tanyss Obonsawin
Sound Editor: Jakob Thiesen
Assistant Sound Editor: Jason Crowe
Additional Sound: Tim Henschel, Heald Audio Consulting
Additional Camera: Goran Dasaric
Costume Designer: Angela Thoman
Wigs: Alice Norton, House of Big Hair
Online Editor: Sharon Hartley
Post-Production Facility: triange
Post Audio Facility: Kitchen Sync
Photographs Courtesy of the National Gallery of Canada, Library and Archives, Ottawa:
Douglas Duncan, 1961. Photo by Ralph Greenhill.
Photo reproduced in R. Ayre, ‘ Artists’ Island” in Weekend Picture Magazine, Vol.41, 1953. Photo by Paul ockett.
Inauguration of the MacCallum Cottage Room at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1969. Photo by John Evans.
Archival Footage and Photographs courtesy of:
Archives of Ontario, City of Toronto Archives
Footage Farm
Getty Images
Gisele Freund
The Globe and Mail
League of Nations Photo Archive
Micheal Williams
University of Newcastle, Australia
Nancy Ruth
National Film Board of Canada
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Pauline Greenhill (Estate of Ralph Greenhill)
Robert C. Brandeis, Chief Librarian
E.J. Pratt Library, Victoria University
Sara and Eric Jackman
Jean-Paul Riopelle, Composition, 1952, oil, Elliott Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario
Documentary Participants:
- Robert Brandeis
- Ann McIntosh Duff
- Tara Jackman Nolan-Jantze
- Gwyneth P. Griffith
- Reverend Edward Jackman
- Eric Jackman
- Maruja Jackman
- Nancy Ruth
- Rosario Onanad
- Margaret Prang
- Elizabeth L. Robinson
- Eleanor Sanderson
With thanks to:
- Sara Jackman
- Beth Atcheson
- Pat Staton
- Martha Russell
- Nancy’s Very own Foundation
- Mary Sanderson
- Christine Donald
- Marie-Jeanne and John Coleman
- Rosemary White
- Bond Street Nursery School
- Johanna M. Selles
- Paul Gooch
- Sharon Larade
- Victoria University
- University of Toronto
- Lila Laasko
- Dennis Reid, Chief Curator, Art Gallery of Ontario
- SODAC
Produced by SkyWorks Charitable Foundation
2005