Sophia Read

Sophia Read was born on the 14th of December, 1860. She was Deanna Durbin's grandmother.

Sophia Read and her husband William were originally from Ruabon, Wales. The Reads had 12 children including Deanna's mother, Ada. They later moved accross the border to Chester and then eventually to the town of Oldham.

Despite leaving Winnipeg for the USA in 1923, the Durbins were still in love with the city. In 1925 they convinced Sophia Read, Ada's now widowed mother, and four of her siblings, brothers Jack and Albert and sisters Mrs. W. Gordon and Mrs. A. Crofts, to move to Canada. The Reads settled at 157 Berrydale Avenue, Saint Vital, Winnipeg. Both Jack and Albert got work as machinists with the Canadian National Railway in Transcona.

For Deanna, the main attraction was her grandmother Sophia who lived with sons Jack and Albert at their home in Saint Vital. Deanna travelled to Winnipeg to visit her grandmother in 1935, 1936, and in April of 1937. On her return to Hollywood after the 1937 trip she told reporters, "Seeing grandma was even better than seeing all the Governors in the dominion."

In 1938, Deanna arranged a special screening of MAD ABOUT MUSIC for her grandmother in Winnipeg.

Sophia Read's hometown was Ruabon, Wales:



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From left to right: Ada, Richard, Sophia, and Edith.



Sophia Read passed away on the 24th of December, 1944.