Isabella Dryden

Isabella Margaret Dryden (October 14, 1917 – May 17, 2024) was a Canadian educator known for teaching computer classes at the age of 102. She also supervised the business education curriculum used in Manitoba's public school system and is credited with making business studies a degree course at Manitoba's main university.

Background Born on October 14, 1917, Dryden grew up on a farm in Manitoba, in the district of Lenore, the oldest of five children. Her parents were John and Mary Dryden. When she was 12 years old, her father died and Dryden helped her mother raise her younger siblings. On her first day of school in grade one, she knew she wanted to become a teacher one day. She left home to obtain a teaching certificate from Central Normal School in Winnipeg.

Career Dryden began her teaching career in 1937, near the rural community of Lenore, Manitoba. She taught at the Errol School, a one-room building with an outhouse and wood stove. After five years of office work, she returned to her former career in 1947, teaching at Two Creeks School and later Virden Public School, both located in her home province. While there, she also helped define the curriculums for the Industrial Arts and Vocational Industrial programs, as well as being introduced to early computer systems. That same year, the City of Winnipeg presented her with a Community Service Award and she also received the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers from the Governor General of Canada, Julie Payette.