Joseph Edwin Underwood (November 3, 1882 – June 1, 1960) was a civil engineer, land surveyor and political figure in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

, Canada. He was mayor of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

in 1932. He was born in

Huron County, Ontario Huron County is a county of the province of Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeast shore of its namesake, Lake Huron, in the southwest part of the province. The county seat is Goderich, also the county's largest community. The popul ...

, the son of Joseph Underwood and Mary Miller, and was educated in Huron County and at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. In 1911, he qualified as a Dominion Land Surveyor and, in 1912, as a Saskatchewan Land Surveyor. Underwood came to Saskatoon in 1911 and, in the same year, married Lina Case. He joined the firm of McArthur and Murphy, which then became known as McArthur, Murphy & Underwood and later as Underwood, McLellan & Associates Limited, A. A. Murphy having departed in 1920 to open an electrical supply company and later to co-found CFQC, a Saskatoon radio station. The remaining partner, Roy Alexander McLellan, had been hired by Underwood in 1912. Theirs was a fruitful partnership which eventually led to their opening of offices across western Canada and ultimately across the country. Early achievements included engineered waterworks and sewage systems at Melfort,

The Pas The Pas ( ; french: Le Pas) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, located at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provinc ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

and Sutherland and electric lights and waterworks at Wilkie, Scott and Assinboia. Underwood also lectured in civil engineering for two years at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. Underwood, McLellan & Associates Limited, later known the UMA Group, became a subsidiary of

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm. AECOM has approximately 51,000 employees, and is number 157 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list. The company's official name from 1990 t ...

in 2004. Underwood Avenue in Saskatoon's

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

community is named in his honour.

References

Mayors of Saskatoon 1882 births 1960 deaths {{Saskatchewan-mayor-stub