At 100, Joan Renshaw Marks a Century of Faith in Atlantic Canada

Early Church Life in Atlantic Canada

In 1919, a decade before the Renshaw family moved to Canada, the Church created the New Brunswick Conference (District) and sent two missionaries to Saint John, New Brunswick. By February 1920, the Canadian Mission President Nephi Jensen organized the Nova Scotia District, with missionaries in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Fredericton and Moncton, New Brunswick.

For Renshaw, life as a Church member in rural New Brunswick required dedication. She recalls that meetings were held only twice a month and that missionaries travelled long distances by train and on foot to reach members.

The missionaries were headquartered in Saint John, and in order to get to Belleisle, they took the train to Norton, transferred to Belleisle, and then walked the last bit of the way,” she said.

Renshaw recalls that the missionaries would leave on a Friday morning and arrive in time for a late lunch. They held a meeting and stayed overnight. On Saturday, after climbing over a barbed-wire fence, they crossed a field and visited neighbours. Classes and services were held on Saturday. After Sunday services, the missionaries returned to Saint John.

I remember Brother Spragg Sr. [a well-known member of the early Church in New Brunswick] telling me that he bore his first testimony in my mother’s home, with Wilbur and Aunt Millie Moses [other well-known converts of the early Church in New Brunswick],” Renshaw recalled.

On weekends when the missionaries were not present, Renshaw and her siblings attended other community churches with friends.

Renshaw was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a brook on the family farm in August 1934.

Wartime Change

The Second World War disrupted the lives of Church members in the Atlantic Provinces, including Renshaw’s. Originally hired by the T. Eaton Company’s Eastern Textiles operation to sew pre-cut dresses on an assembly line, she transitioned to making ammunition boxes during the war.

She met her future husband, Walter, through a family member at a community hall, and the two corresponded from 1945 to 1947. Walter had served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as an aerospace mechanic during the war and later settled in Halifax, where he worked for Citadel Motors.

The couple married in New Brunswick in May 1947, shortly before Renshaw’s 21st birthday, and immediately returned to Halifax after travelling by train to Moncton.

Building the Church in Halifax

Renshaw and her husband purchased their Halifax home in August 1948. She says the home holds many fond memories and was central to both their family and Church life for decades.

Renshaw remembers a visit many years ago from Elder Truman G. Madsen and his missionary companion. “They found us on Charles Street, and during our visit, I stated that we didn’t have scriptures. Elder Madsen invited me to a district meeting, and while I was there, he came up to me and said, ‘I have something in my briefcase for you,’ and gave me a set of scriptures. He came back as our mission president years later.” (Madsen later became a well-known religion and philosophy professor at Brigham Young University.)

Walter joined the Church 13 years after their marriage. His first calling was as a counsellor in the Sunday School presidency, and the Renshaw home soon became a gathering place for Church meetings and activities.

The branch president asked if I would start up Primary again in our home,” Renshaw said. “Walter said, ‘As long as you clean up after they leave, I’m fine with it.’”

Renshaw served in numerous callings over the years, including Primary teacher, Relief Society counsellor, Young Women counsellor, and secretary in multiple Church organizations.

I was a secretary in [the Primary, Young Women or Relief Society organizations] for 26 years,” she said.

Members worked side by side to strengthen the Church, raising funds by delivering phone books and flyers, selling chocolate and soap, and holding numerous bake sales.

As the Church was being established in Halifax, Renshaw also recalls meeting Apostle Elder Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015) and General Authority Elder Paul H. Dunn (1924–1998) when they visited Atlantic Canada.

A Legacy of Faith and Family

Renshaw is the mother of two sons, one living in Arizona, and the other living in Truro, Nova Scotia. She has four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Atlantic Canada for 92 years.

When asked about her longevity, Renshaw points to living the Word of Wisdom. She also shared that one of her favourite hymns is “O My Father.”

At 100 years old, Renshaw continues to live in the Halifax home she and her “beloved” Walter purchased nearly 78 years ago.

A Century of Perspective

From early missionary visits by train and foot to established congregations across Atlantic Canada, Joan Renshaw has both witnessed and been a part of a century of steady growth, faith and community-building in Atlantic Canada. Her story is more than a personal milestone; it reflects a living record of the Church’s growth across the region.

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