Rowena Gross Karyn Huenemann Canada's Early Women Writers Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory Born digital English Born digital Life writing Biography Bibliography Rowena Gross (1902-1986)

A life-long resident of Vancouver, Rowena Gross edited and contributed to the student magazine of the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Art.

1 December 1902, Vancouver, BC 15 January 1986, Vancouver, BC Name at birth: Rowena Pauline Gross Note

This entry is brief, as writing was a very minor aspect of this woman's life.

Entry written by Karyn Huenemann

 Rowena Gross (1902-1986)

Rowena Gross, eldest daughter of Frank Gross (1856-1951) and Nellie Pride (1877-1970), was born in Vancouver, BC, which remained her home for her entire life. The family initially resided at 2375 West 6th Avenue, moving sometime before 1940 to the affluent Point Grey community. Rowena lived with her parents—and after her father's death, her mother—until at least 1958. Rowena had three siblings: one died in infancy in 1908; and her youngest brother, Douglas Haig (b. c1918), died in battle in the Second World War.

Rowena attended the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Art from 1926 through 1928, although her name appears in neither the list of students nor the list of graduates for 1929 and 1930. In 1928, she contributed to and was on the editorial committee of a journal produced by the students, The Paint Box: A Publication Issued Annually by the Students of the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Art, in an Effort to Express the School Atmosphere, and to Forward Interest in the Art of British Columbia, which ran for five years, from 1926 to 1930. She worked as an artist in the 1930s, illustrating Lilies and Leopards, by Annie Charlotte Dalton (1865-1938), in 1935; she also drew the decorations for Annie Dalton's undated chapbook, <XREF URL="https://ceww.wordpress.com/2019/01/10/the-call-of-the-carillon-c1935-by-annie-charlotte-armitage-dalton/" RESP="KME">The Call of the Carillon</XREF>. Rowena is listed as a teacher on Canadian federal voter lists from 1940 onwards.

Rowena died in Vancouver in 1986, although she was not buried in Vancouver's Mountain View Cemetery with her parents and baby sibling.

 Periodical Contributions <XREF URL="https://arcabc.ca/islandora/object/ecuad%3A9302" RESP="KME">The Paint Box</XREF> (Vancouver, BC) Family and Relationships Father: Frank David Gross (4 February 1856 – 6 November 1951) Mother: Nellie Pauline Pride 5 December 1877 – 14 January 1970 Siblings Aubrey William Gross (29 May 1905 – after 1972): m. Marjorie Mary Southcott Kirk (24 October 1908 – 3 October 1976) Baby Gross (d. 13 October 1908) Douglas Haig Gross (c1918 – 18 August 1944) Awards

Clark & Stuart Prize for General Proficiency (Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts, 1928)

 Published Resources 1901 Census of Canada. 1911 Census of Canada. 1921 Census of Canada. British Columbia, Canada, Birth Index, 1872-1903. British Columbia Death Index. British Columbia, Canada, Marriage Index, 1872-1935. Canada, Voters Lists 1935-1980. <XREF URL="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26279328" RESP="KME">Frank David Gross</XREF>. Find A Grave. Web. 11 January 2019.In Memory of Flight Lieutenant Douglas Haig Gross, August 18, 1944. <XREF URL="http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2333291?Douglas%20Haig%20Gross" RESP="KME">Canadian Virtual War Memorial</XREF>. Web. 11 January 2019.Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts Prospectus 1927-28 (Vancouver, BC: Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts, 1928).