Remembering Jack Ambler:
Remembering Jack Ambler:
The man who took first steps to create our South Saskatchewan Community Foundation
The man who took first steps to create our South Saskatchewan Community Foundation
One day in mid-September of 1944, a 21-year-old Yorkshire lad took off with a flight crew on a DC-3 towing a glider with British soldiers in a massive effort to push the German army back from Holland. The effort, dramatized in the movie “A Bridge Too Far”, itself was not a success but Germany was defeated a few months later and Jack Ambler continued to pilot DC-3 aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in southeast Asia.
Jack had trained with the RAF in Saskatchewan and met a girl at a dance in Moose Jaw. They married in 1949 and moved to Moose Jaw to begin civilian life here. By 1960 he was ready to manage the new United Appeal in that city. Soon he was able to tackle the job of fund-raising for the agencies in Prince Edward Island.
This was the decade when “community foundations” grew as a topic of discussion. The Winnipeg Foundation, established in the 1920s was already known and becoming very successful.
One day in 1968, Jack asked the trustees of a small fund in the United Way of Regina to meet. It was his time to recommend the fund be the first investment in a Regina Community Foundation. Busy as he was with each year’s United Way campaigns, Jack volunteered to manage the start of the Foundation, without payment for his time. They accepted and Jack did all the work for 21 years.
Jack received many awards and accolades for his contributions to Canada and Saskatchewan. He died in Regina on Feb. 23, 2013 at the age of 90. He was predeceased in 2011 by his wife Anastasia (“Nel”) after 64 years of marriage.
Murray Grant
Founding SSCF Board Member
One day in mid-September of 1944, a 21-year-old Yorkshire lad took off with a flight crew on a DC-3 towing a glider with British soldiers in a massive effort to push the German army back from Holland. The effort, dramatized in the movie “A Bridge Too Far”, itself was not a success but Germany was defeated a few months later and Jack Ambler continued to pilot DC-3 aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in southeast Asia.
Jack had trained with the RAF in Saskatchewan and met a girl at a dance in Moose Jaw. They married in 1949 and moved to Moose Jaw to begin civilian life here. By 1960 he was ready to manage the new United Appeal in that city. Soon he was able to tackle the job of fund-raising for the agencies in Prince Edward Island.
This was the decade when “community foundations” grew as a topic of discussion. The Winnipeg Foundation, established in the 1920s was already known and becoming very successful.
One day in 1968, Jack asked the trustees of a small fund in the United Way of Regina to meet. It was his time to recommend the fund be the first investment in a Regina Community Foundation. Busy as he was with each year’s United Way campaigns, Jack volunteered to manage the start of the Foundation, without payment for his time. They accepted and Jack did all the work for 21 years.
Jack received many awards and accolades for his contributions to Canada and Saskatchewan. He died in Regina on Feb. 23, 2013 at the age of 90. He was predeceased in 2011 by his wife Anastasia (“Nel”) after 64 years of marriage.
Murray Grant
Founding SSCF Board Member
One day in mid-September of 1944, a 21-year-old Yorkshire lad took off with a flight crew on a DC-3 towing a glider with British soldiers in a massive effort to push the German army back from Holland. The effort, dramatized in the movie “A Bridge Too Far”, itself was not a success but Germany was defeated a few months later and Jack Ambler continued to pilot DC-3 aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in southeast Asia.
Jack had trained with the RAF in Saskatchewan and met a girl at a dance in Moose Jaw. They married in 1949 and moved to Moose Jaw to begin civilian life here. By 1960 he was ready to manage the new United Appeal in that city. Soon he was able to tackle the job of fund-raising for the agencies in Prince Edward Island.
This was the decade when “community foundations” grew as a topic of discussion. The Winnipeg Foundation, established in the 1920s was already known and becoming very successful.
One day in 1968, Jack asked the trustees of a small fund in the United Way of Regina to meet. It was his time to recommend the fund be the first investment in a Regina Community Foundation. Busy as he was with each year’s United Way campaigns, Jack volunteered to manage the start of the Foundation, without payment for his time. They accepted and Jack did all the work for 21 years.
Jack received many awards and accolades for his contributions to Canada and Saskatchewan. He died in Regina on Feb. 23, 2013 at the age of 90. He was predeceased in 2011 by his wife Anastasia (“Nel”) after 64 years of marriage.