Lester Burry
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July 12, 1898
Pine Hill Divinity Hall (D.D.)
Lester Burry | |
|---|---|
 Burry in 1967 | |
| Member of the Newfoundland National Convention for Labrador | |
| In office September 11, 1946 – January 30, 1948 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lester Leeland Burry July 12, 1898 |
| Died | August 31, 1977 (aged 79) |
| Spouse |
Amelia Penney (m. 1928) |
| Education | Mount Allison University (B.A.) Pine Hill Divinity Hall (D.D.) |
| Occupation | Clergyman |
Lester Leeland Burry OC (July 12, 1898 – August 31, 1977) was a Canadian United Church minister and politician from Newfoundland. Originally from Bonavista Bay, Burry spent much of his ministry in Labrador. In 1946, Burry became Labrador's first ever elected official when he was elected to represent the region in the Newfoundland National Convention. A supporter of Confederation with Canada, Burry was one of the delegates sent to Ottawa to negotiate the Terms of Union.
Burry was born on July 12, 1898 in Safe Harbour, Bonavista Bay to Stephen Burry and Marie (née Bourne).[1] He grew up in a Methodist family who pursued the Labrador summer cod fishery.[2] He studied Arts and Theology at Mount Allison University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1923. Burry subsequently returned to Newfoundland and became ordained as a Methodist minister at Gower Street Methodist Church in St. John's in 1924.[3] The Newfoundland Conference of the Methodist Church would join the United Church of Canada in 1925.
At the beginning of his ministry, Burry was assigned to the parish in St. Anthony. While there, he met local school teacher Amelia Marie Penney, and they were married on September 4, 1928. He also befriended fellow missionary Sir Wilfred Grenfell who encouraged him to consider moving to Labrador.[3] After briefly serving the United parishes in Curling and Little Bay Islands, Burry would take Grenfell's advice, and in 1931, he accepted a three year term at the Hamilton Inlet mission based in North West River, Labrador, which then covered most of the far-flung coastal communities of the region.[2]
In administering his parish, Burry travelled by his self-designed boat Glad Tidings or by dog sled in the winter. It would take Burry seven weeks to visit all of the members in his congregation, many of whom were trappers working inland who were far from their families. In 1937, Burry obtained a radio transmitter from the American air base in Goose Bay and set up a broadcast station which, in addition to airing Sunday services, would connect Labrador families to their wayward husbands and fathers.[2][4]