Robert Kimmitt

Mr. Kimmitt was born on December 6, 1911 and passed away peacefully on December 11, 2007. The years in between were filled with many wonderful adventures, dedication to the profound value of education, and service to his greater community.

He began his teaching career in the 1930’s in small rural Alberta schools . The culmination of that career was his serving for many years as the first Superintendent of the Lethbridge Catholic School district – now Holy Spirit Catholic School Division.
During that tenure, he also served as President of the Conference of Alberta School Superintendents and the Lethbridge Rotary Club and as the chairman of various charitable organizations. He was also instrumental in bringing about the creation of the Lethbridge Junior College, now Lethbridge College, which historically in many ways can be thought of as being the “birthplace” of the University of Lethbridge.

In 1972 he elected to take early retirement from the school district in order to pursue a new dimension in his career in education. From the spring of 1973 to the summer of 1975, he was the volunteer educational leader of the Frontier Apostolate in Prince George, B.C, overseeing the operation of many schools in northern British Columbia.

In 1975 retirement began in earnest with a permanent move back to Lethbridge.
World travel became the order of the day. To add to the long list of places already visited, Bob made trips to the British Isles, many European countries, China, India, and South America, often visiting classrooms along the way.

His goal in funding the Kimmitt Scholarship was to provide a small but useful “boost” to the finances of as many future teachers as possible. Heartfelt letters of thanks that have been sent by recipients over the years have shown Bob’s family that his intention to foster and encourage joyful learning in the classroom has indeed been honoured.