Biographical Data

Munro, James A.

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Photo Credit: Unknown

 
 
Title Sub-Lieutenant (S) (UNTD) (RCN(R))
Official Number U-55172
 
Birth 10/10/1929 Death 21/11/2016
Place Oakville Place Victoria
Area ON Area BC
Country Canada Country Canada
 
Titles
Honours CM.
Awards
Qualifications
 
Biography
He is renowned for his success in the retail book business with a store in Victoria BC: Munro's Books. (He retired in 2014.)
 
Military Service
He was appointed as a Naval Cadet (S) (UNTD) RCN(R) (With seniority dated 15/01/1950). He served in HMCS Prevost for UNTD 1949-1951. He was appointed as a Sub-Lieutenant (S) RCN(R) (With seniority dated 01/09/1952). (He was released 1956.)
 
Vessels Owned
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Anecdotes
Bill Clearihue wrote: "James A. Munro (Jim) and his first wife, Alice (recent Nobel Prize for Literature), met as Western University students in London, Ontario. After twelve years working at Eaton's Department Store, where one of his jobs was writing ads for the bargain basement, Jim and Alice Munro ignored advice that there was “no money in books” and opened his first little shop on Victoria's Yates Street, in September, 1963. "We actually did over $100.00 the first day and were thrilled.” Munro bought a large, stately building from the Royal Bank in 1984 that had been for sale for some time. “Nobody wanted a used bank building, but to me it looked like a library.” It had been “hideously modernized,” he says, and he undertook a massive renovation, restoring the spectacular ceiling and adding stained glass windows.“I always had visions of grandeur,” he says. “Containing 6,000 square feet, everyone found it incredulous that we had a building this big. Bank vaults became storage areas and Munro’s second wife, created largescale wall hangings representing literary works ranging from Alice in Wonderland to War and Peace. Jim's bookstore business, which received a boost with the rise of the credit card, grew steadily until the arrival of Chapters and eBooks, but with downsizing this iconic book store has survived." His obituary staed "After graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1951, he married Alice Laidlaw. The couple moved to Vancouver, BC, where they had two daughters, and for 12 years he worked at the T. Eaton Company. In 1963 the family moved to Victoria, where, with Alice's help, Jim was able to realize his long held dream of opening a bookstore. Soon they had another daughter. Jim worked tirelessly to build the business and created a mecca for book lovers. He was also a strong supporter of his wife Alice Munro's writing career. After their divorce, he married artist Carole Sabiston. In 1984 he "bought the bank", a heritage Royal Bank building, for his greatly expanded enterprise. Over the years, the store drew international attention as one of the world's best and most beautiful bookstores. "
 
References
Government of Canada The Canadian Navy List Ottawa ON; Bill Clearihue (Nominal List UNTD); http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=james-armstrong-munro&pid=182910298;
Last update
2016-12-02 00:00:00

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