Former Saskatchewan Wheat Pool chief executive officer Ira Mumford has died at age 96.
Mumford, who grew up near Mortlach, Sask., worked his way from the bottom to the top of the grain company, beginning in 1938 until his retirement in 1981. His employment was interrupted by his five-year service in the Second World War.
He was trained as a teacher, but few jobs were available during the 1930s, which led him to the pool. He spent 16 years in the top job at the company.
He served on many boards during his career, including president of both the Regina branch and provincial boards of the Agricultural Institute of Canada and the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists. He was a member of the Western Grain Elevators Association and served for two years as an adviser to a federal advisory committee on grain handling.
Mumford is survived by his third wife, Shirley, three sons and their families, and Shirley’s son and daughter and their families.
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