Lois Simmie was born on June 11, 1932, in Edam, Saskatchewan.

She is a Canadian writer, poet, and educator, specializing in children’s literature. She spent her youth in small towns, where her father was a grain elevator agent. This background is reflected in many of her stories. She attended Saskatoon Business College (1951-1952) and the University of Saskatchewan (1973-1977). She taught writing classes for many years, including numerous workshops at the Saskatchewan Summer School of Arts and sessions at the Canadian Authors Association conferences. She was a writer-in-residence at the Saskatoon Public Library from 1987 to 1988. Simmie is the author of many children's books ("Auntie's Knitting a Baby," 1988) and collections of short stories ("Ghost House,” 1976, "Betty Lee Bonner Lives Here," 1993); adult fiction ("They Shouldn't Make You Promise That," 1981), a historical true crime story ("The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson," 1995), radio plays, and a children's play for live theatre. She received numerous awards for her works, including the Saskatchewan Writers Guild's Literary Award for Fiction (1983), the Saskatchewan Book Award for Children’s Literature (1995), and the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award (1995).

Marion Lucy Simister was a teacher of drawing at the Montreal Senior School. Together with Ada D. James, she published the book "Teacher's Manual for Prang's New Graded Course in Drawing" (1903). She served as a Secretary of the Women's Alliance, Church of the Messiah, Montreal, Quebec (1910).

She died on September 28, 1935, in Montreal, Quebec.

Peter (Peet) Silvester, born January 1935 in Tallin, Estonia, was the only son of Helga Peet Silvester and Robert Silvester. When he was 12 years old, Peter Silvester immigrated with his mother to Canada. They settled in Edmonton, Alberta, where he attended the Victoria Composite High School from which he graduated in 1952. Later, Peter Silvester moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Engineering at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Following his graduation in 1956, Peter Silvester went on to obtain his Masters in Applied Science from the University of Toronto in 1958. At this time, he married his wife, Elisabeth. In 1964, Peter Silvester obtained his PhD from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Silvester remained at McGill University until 1995, when he retired and moved to Victoria, British Columbia where he passed away in October of 1996.