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Walter Gibbins Memorial Fund

About the Walter Gibbins Memorial Fund

Established in 2008, the purpose of the Walter Gibbins Memorial Fund is to support the maintenance of the Walter Gibbins mineral collection and the display cases used to house the collection, as well as for geological education in the NWT. The mineral collection is maintained by the NWT Mining Heritage Society and has been displayed in a number of locations in the City of Yellowknife. The collection will ultimately be housed in the NWT Mining Heritage Centre.

Walter Gibbins was born in Winnipeg in 1940, and received his B.Sc. from the University of Manitoba , M.Sc. from Northwestern University (Illinois) and Ph.D. from MacMaster University. He worked for the NWT Geological Division of the Department of Indian Affairs, Yellowknife from 1974 until his death in 1992.

Walter was a very well-known figure in geology and mining circles. He was a district geologist and part of his work involved training northerners in geology and prospecting. He specialized in soapstone and other carving stone, and worked closely with Inuit carvers from many Northwest Territories (NWT) communities and settlements (some of which are now in Nunavut). Walter also published several papers on geology, primarily the geology of the NWT.

John, a geological engineer, arrived in Yellowknife in 1954 to work for N. W. Byrne, a consulting engineer, whose practice he bought in 1963. He was elected to Yellowknife Town Council in 1958. Helen Parker arrived in 1955, having just received her MSW from McGill University. She was immediately recruited as a volunteer worker with the Yellowknife Children’s Aid Society, which was the only welfare agency in the NWT caring for children in need of protection. It operated until the establishment of federal government welfare services in the early 1960’s. Her love of music and the arts drove Helen to help in the creation of the Overture Concert Society, a group that brought classical music to Yellowknife. An original trailblazer, Helen was one of the first women invited to join the Board of Directors of the Bank of Nova Scotia. Helen was the ultimate communicator, connector and networker. Together, the Parkers were active community volunteers including the building of the United Church and numerous other boards and committees.

In March of 2020, John passed away and Helen decided to work with the Yellowknife Community Foundation to establish a new fund in the family’s name. Helen and John understood the importance of strong communities. They worked together to strengthen communities, and in doing so learned that developing a community of friends was one of life’s best assets. The fund will hopefully help others learn that lesson, while filling the need for community development. Helen passed away in March of 2023 and it was her hope that the goals of the fund would resonate with other community supporters and donors. She looked forward to seeing the fund grow so that it can provide the most community support possible.

The NWT Mining Heritage Society.

The fund supports the maintenance of the Walter Gibbins mineral collection and the display cases used to house the collection, as well as for geological education in the NWT. The mineral collection is maintained by the NWT Mining Heritage Society and has been displayed in a number of locations in the City of Yellowknife. The collection will ultimately be housed in the NWT Mining Heritage Centre.

For more information

If you require assistance or have questions about the Walter Gibbins Memorial Fund, please do hesitate to contact the Yellowknife Community Foundation office at information@ykcf.ca or by phone at +1-867 446 4527.