Mary Irene Gurney Evans (c. 1870 – August 29, 1951) was a pianist and clubwoman in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Biography

Gurney was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, the daughter of

Edward Gurney Edward John Gurney Jr. (January 12, 1914 – May 14, 1996) was an attorney and an American politician based in Florida, where he served as a Representative and a United States Senator. Born and reared in Portland, Maine, Gurney moved to Flo ...

and Mary Frances Cromwell, and was educated there and at the New England Conservatory of Music. She helped found the Women's Musical Club of Toronto and served as its vice-president. In 1900, she married

William Sanford Evans William Sanford Evans (December 18, 1869 – June 27, 1949) was a Manitoba politician. Between 1933 and 1936, he was the leader of that province's Conservative Party caucus. Evans was born in Spencerville, Ontario, the son of Rev. J.S. Ev ...

and came to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

the following year. She was president of the Women's Musical Club of Winnipeg and was the first president of the Women's Canadian Club of Winnipeg."The Winnipeg W. C. C."
''Canadian Magazine'' (April 1908): 573. She died in Winnipeg in 1951. Her son

Gurney Evans Edward Gurney Vaux Evans (September 3, 1907 – January 8, 1987) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1953 to 1969, and served as a cabinet minister in the ...

served in the Manitoba legislature.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Irene Year of birth uncertain 1951 deaths Canadian classical pianists Canadian women pianists