Longtime Victoria arts supporters leave UVic legacy

Fine arts students at UVic will benefit from a $230,000 gift from the estate of longtime Victoria arts supporters, Maurice Johnson and Audrey St. Denys-Johnson.

The bequest to the faculty of fine arts will establish five annual scholarships of about $2,000 for one student in each of the five fine arts departments: music, theatre, history in art, writing and visual arts.

"Audrey and Maurice were extraordinary people and life-long friends of the faculty. They've supported our students for decades," says Dr. Giles Hogya, dean of fine arts. "This gift will further support the creative potential of students for generations to come."

The Audrey St. Denys and Maurice E. Johnson scholarships in fine arts will honour a couple with a life-long appreciation of the arts.

Johnson grew up in Sooke and, as a young man, lived and worked in Malaya. During World War II he was a machine-gunner with the 4th Panang Battalion, and later served as a captain with the Canadian Intelligence Corps. Following his return to Victoria he earned a BA at UVic and a law degree at UBC. He practised law until his retirement. He loved theatre, music and gardening.

St. Denys shared her husband's love of theatre and music, and was a highly regarded theatre critic, writing the arts column for the Victoria Times from 1944 to 1980 and the Victoria Times Colonist until 1987. Her documentation of the growth of the UVic theatre department was also extensive, and her husband donated her papers to UVic in 1995, two years after her death.