Overview
Stella Burry (1897–1991), also known as Stella Anne Burrey, was a Canadian community worker and volunteer.
Early life and education
Stella Burry was born on 11 August 1897 in Greenspond, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland Colony. Her father was a fisherman. majoring in social work. She also studied at Victoria University, Toronto. While in her second year of study, she realized that what people living in poverty needed was not charity, but opportunities to realise their potential.
Career
Burry spent fourteen years in Toronto engaged in church work. In 1937, she was persuaded by Rev. Oliver Jackson, Superintendent of Home Missions for Newfoundland, to work in Newfoundland. In 1938, she established her office in the Old Star Building in St John's, and founded the United Church Community Service Centre now Stella Burry Community Services Centre. She never married and died in 1991 at the age of 94 years.
Recognition
In 1967, Burry was named the St. John's City Council Citizen of the Year.
Further reading
* No ordinary woman : the story of Dr. Stella Annie Burry, by Joseph C. Burke, Ottawa : Hermitage Publishing Corporation, 2000.
External links
*36 More Great Women by Canada History