Joan Parkins
{{Short description|Canadian figure skater (1922–2013)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Joan Parkins
| image = Joan Parkins.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|10|04}}
| birth_place = Ottawa, Ontario
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|06|01|1922|10|04}}
| death_place = Ottawa, Ontario
| boards = Skate Canada
Selkirk Communications
Stratford Festival
Ottawa Civic Hospital
| spouse = Gordon F. Henderson
| children = 3 including Gordon
}}
Joan Parkins (October 4, 1922 – June 1, 2013) was a Canadian figure skater. She chose not to go professional and instead married Gordon F. Henderson.
Biography
Parkins was born on October 4, 1922, and she went into figure skating at an early age. She had a high school education but did not further her education because figure skating would be her career.Henderson, Gordon (17 June 1986). "Mr. Gordon Henderson" (Interview). Interviewed by Christine J.N. Kates. Ottawa: Osgoode Society. She began skating at the Minto Skating Club and won prizes at events such as the Winnipeg Speed Skating Association championships{{Cite news |date=April 15, 1944 |title=Peg Skaters are Honored |work=The Winnipeg Tribune |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-apr-15-1944-1390578/ |access-date=June 2, 2023}} and three first places at the Minto Club Junior Championships, where she placed above future world champion Barbara Ann Scott twice.{{Cite web |date=March 21, 1938 |title=The Ottawa Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/46216892/?clipping_id=8808519&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjQ2MjE2ODkyLCJpYXQiOjE2ODU2MzM0MTUsImV4cCI6MTY4NTcxOTgxNX0.CTRRal03ljm0iG-otNcvNnW2rHGbqa5CNC6TXczz3jU |access-date= |website=www.newspapers.com}} While at the Minto club, she was coached by Otto Gold and skated with Barbara Scott.{{Cite web |title=BAnQ numérique |url=http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=numerique.banq.qc.ca |language=fr}}
Parkins had a request to turn professional, and while she was considering it, she began working on the switchboard at Gowlings in 1941. Her father died during that time, and in 1942, she married a young lawyer from the firm: Gordon Henderson.{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=David Ricardo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=prWRAAAAMAAJ |title=Just Lawyers: Seven Portraits |date=1995 |publisher=Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History |isbn=978-0-8020-0747-6 |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=1942-08-17 |title=Joan Parkins Wed to Ottawa Lawyer |pages=10 |work=The Ottawa Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-ottawa-journal-joan-parkins-wed-to-o/10487021/ |access-date=2023-06-01}} Ian Scott referred to him as "the best all-around lawyer the profession has produced since the War."Henderson, Gordon F., ed., Trade-marks Law of Canada (Toronto: Carswell, 1993) at xlvii. She subsequently did not go professional in figure skating and did not take a job.
She was on the board of various organizations, including Skate Canada, Selkirk Communications, the Ottawa Civic Hospital, and the Stratford Festival.{{Cite web |title=JOAN HENDERSON Obituary (2013) - Legacy Remembers |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/joan-henderson-obituary?id=43777451 |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=Legacy.com}}
She and her husband set up the Gordon and Joan Henderson Endowment Fund at the Ottawa Hospital and The Gordon and Joan Henderson Family Fund at the Community Foundation of Ottawa.{{Cite web |title=Gordon and Joan Henderson Family Fund - Donate Now |url=https://www.ocf-fco.ca/funds/en-gordon-and-joan-henderson-family-fund/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Ottawa Community Foundation |language=en-US}}
Family
Parkins was the eldest of John and Jennie Parkins's four children. In 1942 she married Gordon Henderson and was married for 55 years until he died in 1993. They had three children: Joanne, Gordon, and Robert, and nine grandchildren, including Stuart Henderson.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Henderson family}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkins, Joan}}