Alphonsine Howlett

Born into a traditional Quebec family, Alphonsine Howlett pursued her early studies in French. She married a distinguished medical man, Dr. John Howlett of the Royal Victoria Hospital. A mother of five children, she attended evening classes over 15 years at the Thomas More Institute for her university education. Her concern for the underprivileged in Montréal was rooted in her selfless love for her family.

In 1944, Alphonsine Howlett was foundress of the Ligue des parents de Montréal and, in 1948, co-foundress of The Priory School, a private grammar school. The community groups with which she served covered the entire gamut of social needs: the Fédération des femmes du Québec, the Centre de psycho-éducation du Québec, the Quebec Association for the Mentally Handicapped, the Family Life Education Association and the Westmount Municipal Association. She was the initiator of the Howlett Commission, a research study on the needs of the mentally handicapped in Montréal, undertaken by the Council on Social Development. She helped found Portage, a rehabilitation centre for addicts, and served as President of the Board of Directors of the Ville Marie Social Services Centre. She served on the Board of Advisors of Concordia University’s School of Community and Public Affairs.

Her efforts have been widely recognized. In 1976, the Montréal Citizenship Council named Alphonsine Howlett a citoyenne d’honneur

Alphonsine Howlett died in 1992. She was inducted into the Academy of Great Montrealers in the Social category in 1978 and was named a Commander of the Ordre de Montréal in 2016.