HARRY E. ATWOOD AND FAMILY:

Harry Erwin Atwood grew up in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, and graduated from Saint Cloud Technical High School in 1926. He also attended the University of Minnesota, serving as managing editor for The Minnesota daily, and graduating in 1931.

Atwood married Margaret Annabel White in November 1932. Their son Roger Atwood was born in 1938 and their daughter Nancy Elizabeth Atwood (later Nancy Steege) was born in 1940.

Atwood was first hired as editor for the in-house newsletter of the Northwestern National Life Insurance Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1931. He gradually moved up in leadership roles, becoming executive vice president in 1956, and president in 1969, which he served in until his retirement in 1975.

Atwood was also elected to the board of the Baptist Hospital Fund in 1949, which operated the Midway Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. The fund merged with three healthcare organizations in 1986, creating the HealthEast system, and Atwood was subsequently appointed its first chairman.

Atwood was also heavily involved in civic and philanthropic activities, including serving in the following roles: general chairman for the United Way of Minneapolis; president and director for the University of Minnesota Alumni Association; director of the American Red Cross - Minneapolis Chapter; and commodore for the Minneapolis Aquatennial Association.

Harry E. Atwood passed in 1996, and Margaret Atwood passed in 2010.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Harry E. Atwood and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 17,730

Processing Information:

Processed by: Leif Kopietz, March 2020.

Catalog ID number: 9989775139404294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Life insurance -- Minnesota.

Persons:

White, Chester S., author.

White, Margaret, author.

Atwood family.

White family.

Steege family.

Organizations:

Northwestern National Life Insurance Company (U.S.), author.

Minneapolis Aquatennial Association (Minneapolis, Minn.), author.

Baptist Hospital Fund (Saint Paul, Minn.), author.

HealthEast (Saint Paul, Minn.), author.

Occupations:

Businessmen -- Minnesota.

Insurance executives -- Minnesota.

Document Types:

Genealogies.

Photographs.

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