James Shouldice

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1850–1925)}} {{Infobox person | name = James Shouldice | image = James Shouldice - 1913-14 - photographed by Edward Blake Curlette.jpg | caption = Shouldice photographed in 1913 or 1914. | birth_date = {{Birth date|1850|11|05}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1925|05|09|1850|11|05}} | burial_place = Union Cemetery (Calgary) | monuments = Shouldice Park | occupation = Rancher, politician | title = Bruce County Warden | term = 1897 | political_party = Conservative | spouse = Mary Margaret Elizabeth Purdue | children = 11, including Dr. Earle Shouldice, founder of Shouldice Hospital }} <!-- Important, do not remove anything above this line before article has been created. -->

'''James Shouldice''' (November 5, 1850 – May 9, 1925) was a Canadian politician, rancher and philanthropist. He was active in Ontario politics during the first half of his life, though he is best known today for his contributions to the development of Calgary in the early twentieth century.

== Early life, occupations and marriage == Shouldice was born November 5, 1850 to an Irish Methodist family in Chatsworth, Ontario.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=9 May 1925 |title=JAMES SHOULDICE CALGARY PIONEER, HAS PASSED AWAY: Active in Public Life and Politics for Many Years |work=The Calgary Daily Herald |pages=13}}</ref> His parents had emigrated during the Great Migration of Canada, a period in which Canada's colonial government encouraged British and Irish settlers to relocate to Upper Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGowan |first=Mark G. |date=31 July 2023 |title=Overview: Irish Migration and Settlement in Canada |url=https://www.ireland.ie/en/canada/ottawa/news-and-events/news-archive/overview-irish-migration-and-settlement-in-canada/ |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=www.ireland.ie}}</ref> In 1853, the Shouldice family relocated to Bruce County to take advantage of farmland made available to settlers by the government.<ref name=":0" />

Shouldice remained in Bruce County from 1853 until 1900.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |year=2000 |title=Home Sweet Heritage Home: Biographies of Famous Calgarians and Their Homes – Shouldice, James – 2123 52 Street NW |url=https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/disclaimer/index.html?dest=/100/205/301/ic/cdc/calgary/res87.htm |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=epe.lac-bac.gc.ca |publisher=Calgary Public Library}}</ref> In adulthood, he entered the family business of ranching,<ref name=":1" /> and maintained a racing stables in Toronto in the 1870s.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 April 1879 |title=HORSE-BREEDING IN TORONTO: What the Ambitions City Can Show in Horse Flesh Stables of Messrs James, Hendrie, Shouldice, and Nolan |work=The Globe |pages=3}}</ref>

In 1879, he married Mary Purdue, the Quebec-born daughter of a reverend.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=8 August 1939 |title=Final Tribute to Mrs. Mary Shouldice Will be Paid Wednesday Afternoon |work=Calgary Herald |pages=9}}</ref> Between 1881 and 1898, the couple had ten biological children: five sons and five daughters.<ref name=":0" /> James and Mary were both devout practitioners of the Methodist faith and engaged in charitable activities with the church throughout their relationship.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

== Ontario politics ==

=== Municipal politics: 1892–1897 === In the late 1800s, municipalities that fell under the jurisdiction of Bruce County sent at least one reeve to sit on the county's council, and in some cases a deputy reeve as well.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Robertson |first=Norman |url=https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.71287/2 |title=The history of the County of Bruce and of the minor municipalities therein, Province of Ontario, Canada |publisher=William Briggs (publisher) |year=1906 |pages=141–144, 370 |language=en |via=Canadiana.ca}}</ref> Shouldice was elected as the reeve of Elderslie between 1892 and 1896.<ref name=":3" />

By the 1890s, the county government consisted of 44 councillors in total, and an act was introduced to cut membership to 18.<ref name=":3" /> The 44-member incarnation of the council held its last meeting in December 1896.<ref name=":3" /> Shouldice ended the session with a joke motion that the members should, as their last act, enter mourning and install a gravestone for the council.<ref name=":3" /> Shouldice returned to municipal politics in 1897 to serve a one-year term as the Warden of Bruce County.<ref name=":1" />

=== Ontario provincial politics: 1898–1899 === In 1898, Shouldice ran unsuccessfully for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as the Conservative candidate for Bruce Centre.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 December 1897 |title=Canadian Briefs |work=Victoria Daily Times |pages=1 |quote=James Shouldice, warden of Bruce county, is the Conservative candidate for Centre Bruce for the legislative assembly.}}</ref> He remained involved with the party, attending its 1899 December meeting and delivering a speech.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 December 1899 |title=Conservatives at Kincardine |work=The Gazette |pages=10}}</ref> By this time, however, he was experiencing poor health, culminating in the decision for he and Mary to relocate with their children to Alberta.<ref name=":1" />

== Life in Alberta ==

=== Move to Namaka: 1900 === In 1900 Shouldice took out a five-year lease on a ranch in Namaka, Alberta,<ref name=":0" /> comprising 13,000 acres of land for an annual fee of $475 in contemporary dollars.<ref name=":20">{{Cite book |last=Historical Society |first=Milo and District |url=https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1OD3RHUN? |title=Snake Valley: A History of Lake McGregor and Area |publisher=D. W. Friesen & Sons Ltd |year=1973 |edition=1 |location=Calgary, Alberta |pages=498 |language=en |chapter=James Shouldice}}</ref> James relocated to the farm first, and Mary followed with their children in early 1901.<ref name=":1" /> Their second-youngest son, Stanley, would later recall arriving to Alberta on a train "in the dead of night, at a railway siding 40 miles east of Calgary."<ref name=":1" /> The nearest school was 12 miles away in Gleichen, so Mary home-schooled the younger children for the next four years while the three eldest boarded in Gleichen to receive a formal education.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":20" />

=== Move to Calgary, farming in Gleichen, and creation of the hamlet of Shouldice: 1906 === Over time, Mary grew concerned with acquiring better learning opportunities for the couple's children.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":20" /> In 1906, in order to be closer to schools, James initiated the purchase of a 480-acre farm to the west of Calgary that had originally been established by rancher and politician Oswald Critchley.<ref name=":21">{{Cite news |date=1 October 2025 |title=On The Cover |url=https://mycalgary.com/Newsletters/Calgary/NW/Montgomery/2025/October.pdf |work=Montgomery Messenger |publisher=Great News Media |pages=2}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Speirs |first=Dale |url=https://www.postalhistorycanada.net/php/StudyGroups/Alberta/content/JAPH-2.pdf |title=Journal of Alberta Postal History |date=1 December 2015 |publisher=Postal History Canada |pages=22–24 |language=en |chapter=THE POSTAL HISTORY OF CALGARY: PART 2. ANNEXED POST OFFICES}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Bullick |first=Terry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jdNFuuji9cUC |title=Calgary Parks and Pathways: A City's Treasures |date=2007-05-22 |publisher=Rocky Mountain Books Ltd |isbn=978-1-894739-08-5 |pages=32 |language=en}}</ref> The Shouldices maintained a property in Calgary that they used as a base when the children were in school, or taking piano and voice lessons.<ref name=":1" />

Concurrently, Shouldice purchased an additional 1,700 acres of land near Gleichen, stretching to the border of the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite news |date=27 September 1937 |title=Old Shouldice Residence, Landmark West of City, Will Become Crematorium |work=The Calgary Daily Herald |pages=11}}</ref> A small hamlet developed in the area that came to bear his name.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Geographic Board of Canada |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000238465 |title=Place-names of Alberta |date=1928 |publisher=F. A. Acland, printer |location=Ottawa |department=Geographical Names Board of Canada}}</ref>

Shouldice operated the Gleichen farm for the rest of his life, remaining personally involved in its day-to-day operations until his death in 1925.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":28">{{Cite book |last=Blue |first=John |url=https://dn721809.ca.archive.org/0/items/albertapastprese0002blue/albertapastprese0002blue.pdf |title=Alberta: Past and Present, Historical and Biographical |publisher=Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. |year=1924 |volume=2 |pages=154–155 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He was one of the first Albertans to breed Hereford cattle, developing a reputation for exhibiting them at trade shows around the province.<ref name=":28" /> He viewed agriculture as a science, and was noted to be an early adopter of new farming machinery.<ref name=":28" /> Shouldice was also successful at dry farming.<ref name=":29">{{Cite news |date=27 July 1910 |title=Good Crop From Good Farming: Shouldice Farm at Namaka Shows Some Splendid Oats |work=Calgary Daily Herald |pages=12}}</ref> While the 1910s saw a period of low precipitation in the Prairies,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chipanshi |first=A. C. |last2=Findlater |first2=K. M. |last3=Hadwen |first3=T. |last4=O'Brien |first4=E. G. |date=26 April 2006 |title=Analysis of consecutive droughts on the Canadian Prairies |url=http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/cr/v30/n3/p175-187/ |journal=Climate Research |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=175–187 |doi=10.3354/cr030175 |issn=0936-577X}}</ref> Shouldice received press attention in 1910 for growing "splendid oats" on his lands using dryland techniques.<ref name=":29" />

=== Gleichen political campaigns: 1909-1911 === In the 1909 provincial general election, Shouldice ran as the Conservative candidate for the electoral district of Gleichen.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |last=Flebotte |first=Mark |date=4 April 2012 |title=Provincial Politics {{!}} Hamlet of Gleichen |url=https://gleichen.ca/news/politics/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=Gleichen.ca |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":30">{{Cite news |date=7 October 1911 |title=Bye-Election Writs Issued |work=Calgary Daily Herald |pages=28}}</ref> He lost to Liberal incumbent Ezra Riley,<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":31">{{Cite journal |last=Close |first=Heather |date=1 September 2024 |title=Political Jugglery and the Public Spirit: The Rileys and McArthurs of Alberta |url=https://www.revparlcan.ca/en/parliamentary-relatives-political-jugglery-and-the-public-spirit-the-rileys-and-mecarthers-of-alberta/ |journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review |volume=47 |issue=2 |via=Canadian Parliamentary Review – La Revue parlementaire canadienne}}</ref> who received 770 votes to Shouldice's 525.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elections Database |first=Canadian |year= |title=1909 Alberta Election – Districts – Gleichen |url=https://canadianelectionsdatabase.ca/PHASE5/?p=0&type=election&ID=284#page_1=constituency_2149 |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=canadianelectionsdatabase.ca}}</ref>

Riley resigned his seat in June 1910 to protest Arthur Sifton, who had become Premier in the wake of the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal.<ref name=":31" /> Though the press speculated that Shouldice would run again in the ensuing October by-election,<ref name=":30" /> the Conservatives refrained from running a candidate, instead choosing to support Riley's re-election bid as an independent.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 1, 1910 |title=Liberals Stand Back of Riley |url=http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/newspapr/np_page2.asp?code=n27p0353.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121102716/http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/newspapr/np_page2.asp?code=n27p0353.jpg |archive-date=January 21, 2016 |accessdate=2007-08-01 |publisher=Calgary Herald |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Riley was ultimately unsuccessful, losing to Liberal candidate Archibald J. McArthur.<ref name=":31" />

McArthur died just eight months later, prompting another by-election to be held in October 1911.<ref name=":31" /> This time, the Conservative party decided to run a candidate.<ref name=":31" /> Shouldice sought the nomination, though he was not the party's first choice: the nomination was first offered to Maitland Stewart McCarthy and Alexander McGillivray, who both declined.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 October 1911 |title=Conservatives Shy of the Nomination – Several Decline to Run in Alberta Legislature by Election-Other Candidates |work=The Victoria Daily Times |pages=1}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite news |date=11 October 1911 |title=Harold Riley is Gleichen's Choice for Next Member |work=The Calgary Daily Herald |pages=1 |quote=Harold Riley was nominated as Conservative candidate to contest the riding of Gleichen at the forthcoming bye-election, by a majority of almost three to one over the only other nominee, James Shouldice, at a convention of delegates held last evening in the Conservative headquarters which may be fairly described as the most representative ever drawn from a rural riding.}}</ref> In the end, Shouldice contested the nomination against Ezra Riley's brother, Harold Riley.<ref name=":32" /> Party members voted in favour of nominating Harold by a majority of almost 75%.<ref name=":32" /> Harold received Shouldice's public endorsement ahead of ultimately winning the by-election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shouldice |first=James |date=23 October 1911 |title=Michener and Riley Hold a Successful Meeting at Gleichen – 'Is Supporting Mr. Riley' |work=Calgary Daily Herald |pages=4}}</ref><ref name=":31" />

== Life in Calgary ==

=== Charitable and community activities: 1906–1925 === Upon moving to Calgary, James and Mary Shouldice became congregants of the Methodist Central Church, which was led by Reverend Dr. George Kerby.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=White |first=Anne M. |date=1996-08-07 |title=Evangelicalism, Revivalism and the Female Contribution: Emily Spencer Kerby |url=https://historicalpapers.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/historicalpapers/article/view/39424 |journal=Historical Papers |language=en |doi=10.25071/0848-1563.39424 |issn=0848-1563|doi-access=free }}</ref> The couple financially supported the church's charitable operations throughout the rest of their lifetimes,<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 August 1939 |title=Final Tribute Paid to Mrs. Shouldice - Dr. Avison Praises Her Life at Funeral Services Here |work=Calgary Herald |pages=9}}</ref> and the Calgary Herald reported that they donated "generously" to the local chapter of the YMCA.<ref name=":2" />

=== Donation of land for Shouldice Park: 1909 === alt=Shouldice Park, Calgary, undergoing renovations in 2017.|left|thumb|273x273px|Shouldice Park, Calgary, undergoing renovations in 2017. In 1909, Shouldice and his neighbour, Alfred Sydney McKay, donated a total of 100 acres of farmland along the Bow River to the City of Calgary.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last1=Armeneau |first1=Laura |url=https://sapl.ucalgary.ca/sites/default/files/teams/2/2020%20-%20ArmeneauDevereauxParahoniak%20-%20Report.pdf |title=Montgomery: Gateway to the Rockies |last2=Parahoniak |first2=Bryana |last3=Devereaux |first3=Bryce |date=1 February 2020 |publisher=University of Calgary |pages=7–8 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite news |date=16 August 1909 |title=Park North of Bow: Another Offer is Made to the City Today |work=The Calgary Daily Herald |pages=1}}</ref> They hoped the municipality would convert it into a park for the enjoyment of its residents,<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=White |first=Stephanie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lElEC4msH9UC |title=Unbuilt Calgary |date=2012-11-03 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=978-1-4597-0331-5 |pages=114 |language=en}}</ref> stipulating that the City should install a streetcar route connecting the land to Louise Bridge.<ref name=":11" />

Although the City accepted, the lot remained relatively untouched for the rest of Shouldice's life.<ref name=":23">{{Cite book |last=Bullick |first=Terry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jdNFuuji9cUC |title=Calgary Parks and Pathways: A City's Treasures |date=2007-05-22 |publisher=Rocky Mountain Books Ltd |isbn=978-1-894739-08-5 |pages=30–33 |language=en}}</ref> By 1917, weeds were pervasive, and the ground had not been levelled to introduce a sports pitch as Shouldice and McKay had hoped.<ref name=":33">{{Cite news |date=15 January 1918 |title=James Shouldice is Given Lease of Park |work=The Calgary Daily Herald |pages=9}}</ref> In January 1918, Shouldice negotiated a four-year lease of the land back from the City, to sublet plots of the park for agriculture and to level the land himself.<ref name=":33" />

Nonetheless, work would not begin on introducing public amenities to what is now called Shouldice Park until forty years after Shouldice's death.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Calgary |first=Parks |title=Shouldice Park |url=https://www.calgary.ca/parks/shouldice-park.html |access-date=2025-11-05 |website=calgary.ca |publisher=City of Calgary |language=en}}</ref> Today, the park is run by the City, offering soccer, baseball, and tennis facilities across 28 hectares.<ref name=":13" /> The area also contains the Shouldice Aquatic Centre and Shouldice Arena, named after James.<ref name=":13" />

=== Creation of Shouldice Terrace (later Montgomery): 1910–1925 === alt=Hextall Bridge, partly funded by Shouldice to connect Bowness to Shouldice Terrace (now Montgomery), photographed in 2023.|thumb|273x273px|Hextall Bridge, partly funded by Shouldice to connect Bowness to Shouldice Terrace (now Montgomery), photographed in 2023. News of Shouldice and McKay's donation in 1909, and plans to introduce a park, stoked interest in the area as a place to live.<ref name=":10" /> Shouldice subsequently divided up much of his remaining farmland into residential lots.<ref name=":12" /> A suburban unincorporated community, named Shouldice Terrace, developed from November 1910 onwards, when plots became available for sale.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 November 1910 |title=Shouldice Terrace Adjoining Shouldice Park – SALE Opens Mon., Nov. 14th at 10 a.m. |work=Calgary Daily Herald |pages=12}}</ref> Calgary's municipal government agreed to introduce streetcar services to the area by the end of 1911.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 November 1910 |title=Shouldice Terrace Street Cars in 1911 |work=Calgary Daily Herald |pages=12}}</ref>

Shouldice's neighbour over the Bow River was John Hextall, founder of the community of Bowness.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |last=Peach |first=Jack |date=22 October 1988 |title=If the Bow Could Talk – The Stories We'd Hear |work=Calgary Herald |pages=64}}</ref> In 1913, Shouldice partly financed the construction of Hextall Bridge, which facilitated early streetcar transit links between Bowness and Calgary.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":25">{{Cite web |last=Allan |first=Kaeliegh |date=2017-04-24 |title=Bowness: How a Calgary community is keeping the past alive |url=https://calgaryjournal.ca/2017/04/24/how-a-calgary-community-is-keeping-the-past-alive/ |access-date=2025-11-05 |website=Calgary Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> Today, a road bridge provides vehicular access between Montgomery to Bowness, though Hextall Bridge remains in use by pedestrians and cyclists.<ref name=":25" />

Because Alberta already had a hamlet named after Shouldice, postal delivery errors were a frequent problem for residents of both.<ref name=":15">{{Cite news |last=Seskus |first=Tony |date=6 December 2011 |title=Expansion by absorption; Many Calgary neighbourhoods were once vibrant, independent towns with their own identities |work=Calgary Herald |pages=4}}</ref><ref name=":24">{{Cite web |last=Community Association |first=Montgomery |date=2025-02-04 |title=Montgomery Memories! |url=https://mycalgary.com/community/calgary/nw-communities/montgomery/montgomery-memories/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=MyCalgary |language=en-CA}}</ref> In 1943, the Canadian Post Office refused to grant the community near Calgary a post office of its own, as there was already a Shouldice post office in the original hamlet.<ref name=":8" /> The Shouldice family subsequently assented to changing the community's name to Montgomery, after Bernard Law Montgomery.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":15" /> Montgomery functioned as an unincorporated community until 1958, when it became a town.<ref name=":16">{{Cite book |last1=Ge |first1=Michael |url=https://sapl.ucalgary.ca/sites/default/files/teams/2/2020%20-%20GeHoulderScheffel%20-%20Report.pdf |title=Montgomery: The Way Forward |last2=Scheffel |first2=Gerrit |last3=Houlder |first3=Lilit |publisher=University of Calgary |year=2020 |location=Calgary |pages=11–12}}</ref> In 1963, Montgomery was absorbed by Calgary.<ref name=":16" />

=== Contributions to the establishment of Mount Royal College: 1911–1925 === The Shouldices' reverend, Dr. Kerby, believed that education was necessary to create a better society.<ref name=":34">{{Cite book |last=University |first=Mount Royal |url=https://www.mtroyal.ca/AcademicSupport/_pdfs/convocation_program2.pdf |title=A Tradition of Success: Mount Royal University's Spring Convocation 2014 |date=1 June 2014 |publisher=Mount Royal University |pages=4}}</ref> In 1911, he began seeking financial support to become the founding Principal of an institute of higher education, Mount Royal College (today Mount Royal University).<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=Donald N. |title=Catch the gleam: Mount Royal, from college to university, 1910–2009 |date=2011 |publisher=University of Calgary Press |isbn=978-1-55238-532-6 |series= |location=Calgary |pages=16–20}}</ref> In November that year, Shouldice and his neighbour Mackay became two of Mount Royal College's earliest and most significant donors, contributing 50 acres of downtown land to the project.<ref name=":18">{{Cite news |date=11 December 1911 |title=Mt. Royal College Given a Splendid Site in West End |work=The Calgary Herald |pages=7}}</ref> The college had been open for three months at the time of the donation, operating out of temporary quarters known as 'The Barn.'<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":19">{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Sade |year=2022 |title=A Look At Where We Started: The Original Campus |url=https://sites.google.com/mtroyal.ca/constructing-a-campus/a-look-at-where-we-started |access-date=2025-11-05 |website=mtroyal.ca |language=en-US}}</ref>

While Shouldice's 1911 land donation contributed to the successful establishment of the college, Calgary experienced a real estate crash in 1913.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":19" /> As the college struggled to afford property taxes, or to fund construction, the land came to represent a financial burden.<ref name=":17" /> By the 1930s, the college was forced to return the land to the estate of donors or the City of Calgary.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":19" /> Beyond the donation of land, however, Shouldice provided ongoing financial backing to the college's operations throughout his lifetime.<ref name=":17" /> Eulogizing at Shouldice's funeral in 1925, Kerby remembered Shouldice as "always loyal and kind" to Kerby.<ref name=":27" />

=== Construction of the Shouldice Residence: 1911 === alt=Brick home built by James Shouldice, 1911.|thumb|270x270px|Brick home built by James Shouldice, 1911. In 1911 Shouldice funded the construction of a 25-room brick mansion for his family to occupy when they were not in Calgary or Gleichen.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=What's at stake |url=https://www.heritageinspiresyyc.org/at-stake/ |access-date=2025-11-05 |website=Heritage Inspires YYC |language=en-US}}</ref> The Shouldice Residence was located uphill, overlooking Shouldice Terrace, close to what is today the junction of Home Road and 52 Street in Montgomery.<ref name=":16" /> In 2025, the Montgomery Community Association would recall the building as being "resplendent with a gleaming spiral staircase and oak trim, and panoramic views of the valley."<ref name=":21" />

By 1937, the residence was converted into a crematorium.<ref name=":24" /> During its initial years of operation, it was the only crematorium in operation between Winnipeg and Vancouver.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 November 1997 |title=Calgary's Serene and Private Moment |work=Calgary Herald |pages=4}}</ref> The building was demolished in 1974 due to concerns that it was a threat to the stability of the slope upon which it was located.<ref name=":21" /><ref name=":24" /> In a 1982 article for the ''Calgary Herald'', local historian Jack Peach described the Shouldice Residence as one of the "prestigious buildings" that had shaped Calgary's past.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Peach |first=Jack |date=13 March 1982 |title=Prestigious buildings gave Calgary a colorful past |work=Calgary Herald |pages=140}}</ref>

== Death == In January 1925 Shouldice experienced heart problems while on vacation in California.<ref name=":0" /> He seemingly recovered, but after returning to Alberta, overexerted himself by resuming his usual farming activities and ultimately suffered a relapse.<ref name=":0" /> He fell seriously ill in April and was taken to Calgary General Hospital, where he was treated for a month before his death on May 9, 1925.<ref name=":0" />

The ''Calgary Herald'' described him as "known to everyone" in the city at the time of his death.<ref name=":26">{{Cite news |date=12 May 1925 |title=The Passing of Pioneer Citizens |work=The Calgary Daily Herald |pages=8}}</ref> News of his passing subsequently generated "a sense of personal loss" among thousands of Calgary's residents, even those who "never knew him personally."<ref name=":26" /> His funeral was held May 11 at the Methodist church that he and his wife, Mary, had attended since moving to Calgary.<ref name=":27">{{Cite news |date=12 May 1925 |title=Many Tributes to James Shouldice |work=The Calgary Daily Herald |page=15}}</ref> Kerby, founding principal of the college (Mount Royal) that had received Shouldice's support, performed the eulogy.<ref name=":27" />

Shouldice is buried at Union Cemetery with his wife, Mary, who died August 7, 1939 at the age of 78.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":27" />

== Family legacy ==

Of James and Mary Shouldice's ten biological children, only one did not survive to adulthood. Their first daughter, Mildred, died aged thirteen months in April 1886.<ref name=":0" /> In 1883, the Shouldices adopted a nine-year-old girl from England, Catherine Willis, whose mother had sent her to Canada following her father's death.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Godsman |first=John |date=2016-03-24 |title=Remembering our roots ~ Roy & Karen Clark |url=https://strathmoretimes.com/2016/remembering-our-roots-roy-karen-clark/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251103031016/https://strathmoretimes.com/2016/remembering-our-roots-roy-karen-clark/ |archive-date=2025-11-03 |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=Strathmore Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Though it is unknown how Willis entered the Shouldice's care, the arrangement proved permanent: she moved to Alberta with them in 1901.<ref name=":4" /> Her wedding to farmer John Clark in 1903 was held on the family's Namaka ranch.<ref name=":4" />

Four of James and Mary's sons served in the First World War, notably among them their second-eldest, '''Frederick Lowry Shouldice''' (April 5, 1883 – February 1, 1952).<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":5" /> Frederick, a lawyer by profession, became a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry unit.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=1 February 1952 |title=R.L. Shouldice, Pioneer Calgary Lawyer, Dies: Admitted To Bar In 1913; Commanded Calgary Regiment |work=The Calgary Herald |pages=1}}</ref> His conduct during the second Battle of Cambrai earned him a Military Cross for bravery.<ref name=":5" /> He resumed legal practice in Calgary in 1919 and was made King's Counsel in 1930.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":28" /><ref name=":5" />

Third-eldest son '''Edward Earle Shouldice''' (October 3, 1890 – August 20, 1965) graduated from the University of Toronto in 1916 and became a physician in Ontario.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":28" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last1=LeBlanc |first1=Karl A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4NlVDwAAQBAJ |title=Management of Abdominal Hernias |last2=Kingsnorth |first2=Andrew |last3=Sanders |first3=David L. |date=2018-04-16 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-63251-3 |pages=527 |language=en}}</ref> He served as a private in the First World War, then as a recruitment physician during the Second World War.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":6" /> After becoming interested in treating hernias upon finding that a number of recruits could not enlist due to the condition,<ref name=":6" /> he developed the Shouldice surgical technique that remains in use,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chan |first1=Chin Keung |last2=Chan |first2=Gabriel |date=1 September 2006 |title=The Shouldice technique for the treatment of inguinal hernia |journal=Journal of Minimal Access Surgery |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=124–128 |doi=10.4103/0972-9941.27723 |doi-access=free |issn=0972-9941 |pmc=2999770 |pmid=21187981}}</ref> and opened Shouldice Hospital in 1945.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reporter |first=Valerie Hauch Staff |date=2012-09-23 |title=Shouldice hernia centre likely to move in four years |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/shouldice-hernia-centre-likely-to-move-in-four-years/article_5fe95c8b-90ad-54ff-9f52-6c7c2f13842d.html |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}}</ref>

Third-eldest daughter '''Gertrude Ethel Lawrie''' (née Shouldice) (November 14, 1888 – October 6, 1981) worked as a teacher between 1911 and 1917, when she became engaged to Robert Lawrie.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 October 1981 |title=Deaths – Lawrie – October 6, 1981 |work=Calgary Herald |pages=71}}</ref><ref name=":35">{{Cite news |date=4 September 1956 |title=Four Forty-Year-Old 'Thank Yous' Given Retired 'One Room' Teacher |work=Calgary Herald |pages=18}}</ref> The couple joined the war effort that year.<ref name=":35" /> Gertrude worked as a nurse with the Voluntary Aid Detachment at a military hospital in London, while her fiancé was stationed in Europe.<ref name=":35" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=16 January 1946 |title='Personal' |work=Calgary Herald |pages=6}}</ref> One of her pupils in 1916 was Francis Winspear, who went on to fund the Francis Winspear Centre for Music in Edmonton.<ref>{{Cite news |last=MacLean |first=Mairi |date=2 October 1988 |title=Concert hall benefactor formidable presence at 86 |work=Edmonton Journal |pages=36}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Francis G. Winspear (1903–1997) |url=https://www.winspearcentre.com/more/about/about-winspear/history/dr-francis-g-winspear-1903-1997/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=Winspear Centre |language=en-US}}</ref> Winspear, along with three classmates, held a reunion dinner with Lawrie in 1956, partly crediting her for their success.<ref name=":35" />

== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shouldice, James}} Category:1850 births Category:1925 deaths Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:People from Grey County Category:Canadian ranchers Category:Burials at Union Cemetery (Calgary) Category:Settlers of Canada