Irene Howard

Irene Howard was born in Prince Rupert,B.C. on November 19, 1922 to a Swedish father and a Norwegian mother, Nils Alfred Nilsson and Ingeborg Aarvik. Her father later changed his name to Alfred Nels Nelson.

Irene had a childhood of tremendous upheaval due to her father’s work in different mines in BC. They moved from mine to mine living in tents and log cabins.She had three older brothers, Art, Verne and Ed and a younger brother Freddie.Their life was all about hard work and survival in the toughest conditions. Irene’s mother died in 1931 when Irene was nine, from too hard work and childbirth. Her father died of silicosis in 1948.

Irene went to UBC and got a Master’s degree in English and has taught at UBC and Capilano College. She is an author of several books. Her first book was “ Vancouver Svenskar”, a history of the Swedish Community in Vancouver published by Vancouver Historical Society. Irene presented this book to the King and Queen of Sweden when they visited Vancouver in 1988. She also wrote “ Bowen Island 1872 – 1972” published by Bowen Island Historians.

Irene wrote an important biography of social reformer Helena Guttridge, the first woman elected to Vancouver city council. The book is called “ The struggle for social justice: Helena Guttridge, the social reformer” This book earned a nomination for the BC Book Prize and won a UBC medal for Canadian biography. Guttridge was a labour organizer who fought for low income housing and women’s rights until she died at 88. She had emigrated from Britain in 1911.

“I had to commemorate their labour, their monumental labour. I had to tell their heroic lives”. That is how Irene Howard introduces her own monumental work: “Gold Dust on his shirt, The true story of an immigrant mining family”. An inspiring and heart wrenching tribute to her parents. Gold dust is one of the most impressive memoirs ever written about a BC working class family. This is an epic tale of perseverance superbly told.

We congratulate Irene on her 100th Birthday on November 19th!!

GP