A native of Manchester, England, Edith C. Rowles Simpson was raised on a homestead on the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. She taught at a number of rural Saskatchewan schools prior to enrolling at the University of Saskatchewan where she won the Rutter prize for most distinguished graduate receiving her BHSc in 1932. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin (MSc, 1939) and Columbia (EdD, 1956). Simpson joined the faculty of the Department of Women's Work, University of Saskatchewan, in 1932 serving in a number of positions throughout her career: supervisor of girls' work (1936); assistant professor in the College of Agriculture (1941); University Dean of Women (1944); assistant professor in the College of Home Economics (1950); and professor and Dean of Home Economics (1965-1972). In her extension work she conducted Farm Girls' Camps and Extension Short Courses. Her academic speciality was in food science, an area in which she taught, researched and published. In 1964 Simpson published the book Home Economics In Canada: Prologue To Change and also married historian and fellow professor G.W. Simpson. After spending her entire professional life at the U of S she retired in 1972, was named Dean Emeritus and was further honoured with the establishment of the Edith Rowles Simpson Lectureship. In 1993 the University of Saskatchewan honoured her again with a Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree. Dr. Simpson's professional affiliations included memberships in the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canadian and American Dietetic Associations and Canadian Home Economics Association where she served as President. Among her many awards and honours are inductions into the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Order of Canada in 1987.

Phebe Winifred Rowles was born at Manchester, England, on 28 July 1907. She was educated at Crandall, Manitoba, and Empress, Alberta, where the family homesteaded. She graduated from Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon and enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1926-1927, she competed in high jump at an inter-varsity meet, the first time that women had entered as a team. In other meets she competed in discus and javelin. Rowles was the jump centre on the basketball team. Rowles also was vice-president of the Student Representative Council and a member of the University Athletic Directorate and Women's Athletic Council. Rowles earned her BSc from the U of S in 1930. She was secretary to C.J. MacKenzie, Dean of Engineering, when he was consulting engineer on the construction of the Broadway Bridge. Rowles later worked in Winnipeg and Montreal before serving as Director of Women’s Personnel at the C.I.L. nylon plant in Kingston, Ontario. Phebe then joined Dorothy (Riches) Catto in operating Turkeys Deluxe at Dewittville, Quebec in the 1950s and 1960s. After two years as an official with the Vancouver YWCA, she retired to Saskatoon. Rowles was named to the U of S Athletic Wall of Fame in 1984 for her basketball and track and field exploits. She was involved with Knox Personal Theatre, Summer Players, the Dominion Drama Festival and the film “Paperback Hero.” Phebe and her sisters, Jessie Caldwell and Edith C. Rowles Simpson, were three of 100 Saskatonians honoured on the city’s 100th birthday. Rowles died 29 May 1995 in Saskatoon. The Phebe Rowles Scholarship recognizes academic achievement among U of S students pursuing a graduate degree program with a major in Political Studies.
Sister of Dr. Edith Rowles Simpson.

First wife of G.W. Simpson.

Born in Chatsworth, Ontario on 24 March 1893, George Wilfred Simpson received his early education in Owen Sound before taking up a homestead in southern Saskatchewan. In 1915 he entered the University of Saskatchewan and received a BA (1919) in English and History; in 1920 he received an MA from the University of Toronto. The first Saskatchewan recipient of the IODE overseas scholarship, Simpson was able to attend the University of London for postgraduate studies. He also did postgraduate work at the University of Berlin (1931-1932), and in 1947 received an honourary doctorate from the Free Ukrainian University in Munich, Germany. In 1959, Simpson was given an LL.D from the University of Saskatchewan. His teaching career at the University of Saskatchewan started in 1922, with an appointment as Instructor in History. By 1928 he had been promoted to full professor; in 1940, Simpson was appointed Head of the History Department, a position he held until his retirement in 1958. Upon retirement, Simpson was named Professor Emeritus. During his career at the University of Saskatchewan, Simpson initiated the department of Slavic studies, was the first Canadian historian to learn Ukrainian, and edited the first history of the Ukraine published in English: "Ukraine, An Atlas Of Its Geography and History." He helped shape the policy of the Saskatchewan Archives Act, was the first Provincial Archivist (1945-1948), and afterward served on the Archives Board. As chair of the Committee on Historic Sites and Publications, he made a major contribution to the success of Saskatchewan's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1955. Simpson died in Saskatoon on 6 March 1969, at the age of 75.