The ’09 honour roll

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/01/2010 (5764 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A renowned artist, a leader of the Métis, a fisherman who helped people in the North, a friend of music, and a voice that Winnipeggers woke up to are among those the province lost in the past year.

Leo Mol never forgot his native Ukraine, but he left his artistic mark in Winnipeg.

Mol, who died July 4 at 94, created sculptures and monuments for cities around the world.

But here in Winnipeg, his donation of $4 million of his work allowed the creation of the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden in Assiniboine Park. The free attraction draws about 250,000 visitors per year and is believed to be the only one of its kind devoted to a single artist in North America.

"Leo’s gone, but his art will be here for future generations," said art dealer Bill Mayberry at the time of Mol’s death.

"Good art always lasts."

Mol was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1989 and the Order of Manitoba in 2000.

Edward Head was born up north and worked as a trapper, diamond driller and guide before deciding to help the Métis people.

Head, who died on Oct. 27, at 78, helped found the Manitoba Métis Federation and was elected president in 1975. In 2004, he was honoured with the title of senator by the MMF because of his service to the Métis nation. He was also honoured with the Order of Manitoba and the Order of the Métis Nation.

Head advanced Métis issues including land claims and harvesting rights.

"Senator Head was a great rock in vigorously forwarding Métis issues throughout the homeland," said MMF president David Chartrand at the time of Head’s passing.

Peter Lazarenko was a fisherman who helped create an airline.

Lazarenko, who died at 92 on Oct. 6, created Northland Fisheries Ltd. to sell fish to Canada and the United States.

But to transport the fish from the north and take goods back to Northern Stores, Lazarenko formed Northland Airlines. That airline was later renamed Air Manitoba and it later led to him being honoured by the Western Canada Aviation Museum as an aviation associated pioneer.

Lazarenko also created Northland Wild Rice to process wild rice on the lakes he fished on, and Northland Petroleum to supply bulk petroleum products to northern communities. He founded Northland Freight and Forwarding whose freight boats included the M.S. Lady Canadian now on display at the Selkirk Marine Museum.

Max Tapper was with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and then was the executive director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

While with the WSO, Tapper recruited maestro Bramwell Tovey and co-created the Winnipeg New Music Festival. He later went on to be the managing director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Ron Able had the job to wake up Winnipeggers in the morning — lots of Winnipeggers.

Able, a veteran Winnipeg radio personality who died at 57 on Feb. 13, was the morning man at KY 58 and then QX104 for the last 12 years.

Sharon Taylor, QX104’s general manager, said Able was "a mentor to many, a friend to all — and a great man."

Warren Steen, who died at 69 on Aug. 19, was a former city councillor and MLA.

Steen was a life underwriter with Equitable Life of Canada when first elected as an alderman in the old city of Winnipeg in 1969. He was reelected as a city councillor in Queenston ward when the city amalgamated into Unicity in 1972.

"He was a dedicated and committed elected representative," former deputy mayor Bernie Wolfe said of Steen.

Steen, whose brother Robert was also a city councillor and then mayor of Winnipeg, went on to be elected a Tory MLA in Crescentwood after defeating Liberal leader Charles Huband in 1975.

Steen himself was defeated by another Liberal leader — Sharon Carstairs — in 1986.

George Jerome, who died on Jan. 21 at 66, fought as a heavyweight boxer from 1968 to 1980, and was never knocked off his feet. He won 13 times, but among his 14 losses were ones to George Chuvalo and Pinklon Thomas. He was born George Joyal in St. Boniface.

Elizabeth Henning, known as Ma, was a champion to the Canadian country music industry.

Henning, who died at 76 on June 1, started booking country acts into her Winnipeg hotel, the Downs Motor Hotel, because, as she told a reporter in 1986, "I figured if I had to sit and listen to music, I wanted to listen to something I enjoy."

Henning also started a record company and was president of the Canadian Country Music Association in 1985. She dug into her own pocket to put up the $100,000 needed to spearhead the association’s first live awards show the next year.

"She was a kind woman and she was very fair, but she was all business," recalled veteran musician and broadcaster Ray St. Germaine.

The CCMA honoured her with the Hank Smith Award of Excellence in 2008.

Here, with the dates of their deaths, are other notable Manitobans who left us in 2009.

Jan. 1 – Craig Stewart, 80. An interest in motor garages was pulled over by politics. He owned Stewart Motors in Minnedosa before selling it shortly after he was elected as a Progressive Conservative MP for Marquette in 1968. He ran for three terms and was chairman of the Manitoba Tory caucus and was Canadian delegate for the United Nations. Before federal politics, he was a Minnedosa town councillor and deputy mayor. He was elected mayor in 1980. He was also president of the local chamber of commerce and a past president of the Kinsmen Club.

Jan. 1 – Vic Batzel, 73. Growing up, he wasn’t known for his sporting ability, but that didn’t stop him from being heavily into soccer later in life. After serving as president of the Windsor Community Centre, he began organizing youth soccer for the community club and then district. He became president of Greater Winnipeg Minor Soccer and the Manitoba Soccer Association. He was on the Canadian Soccer Association board. His day job was as a University of Winnipeg history professor where he was lauded by his students and honoured with the first Clifford Robson Award for Excellence in Teaching. He served terms on the university’s Senate and Board of Regents.

Jan. 2 – Bill Leitch, 94. In another life, he would be a duck. He fostered his love for waterfowl during boyhood hunting expeditions with his dad. He joined Ducks Unlimited in 1939 and stayed, except for the war years, until he retired in 1977. He was chief biologist for many of those years and published several works including Ducks and Men: Forty Years of Co-operation in Conservation. He was honoured with the province’s Professional Wildlife Conservation Award and the establishment of the William G. Leitch Habitat project by DU. He was also a founder of the Winnipeg Skeet Club and served as its president in 1966. He was the province’s skeet champion in 1963 and its .410 champion in 1969.

Jan. 4 – Keith Routley. A dentist by profession, he was active in the community. He was a candidate in both provincial and civic elections and was chairman of the South Fort Rouge Business Association, Sisters of Service, and the city’s Civic Charities Endorsement Committee. He was president of the Sierra Club and the Red River Exhibition and a board member of the Misericordia Hospital Foundation. He founded Mabel’s Free Clinic, which offers dental, medical and optical services in Mexico. He was honoured with the Community Service award from the city, Celebrate Canada’s People who make a Difference award, and the Honor a Quien Honor Merece from the government in Nuevo Progresso, Tampico, Mexico.

Jan. 5 – Stewart Wilcox, 74. He helped people in the province get drugs. He was a founding member of the Manitoba Society of Pharmacists and helped establish the province’s pharmaceutical act. He was named Manitoba Pharmacist of the Year in 1986, and was the registrar of the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association. He was on the board of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for 15 years.

Jan. 6 – Bill Addison, 100. He was one of the builders of the province’s sporting community. He was a founding member of the Manitoba Sports Federation, the president of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association, and the commissioner of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He put together the Winnipeg Braves hockey squad that won the Memorial Cup in 1959 – the last Manitoba team to do that. He was manager of the Canadian PONY League baseball champions, the Winnipeg Garry Orioles. He was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. He was also inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. He was honoured with a gold medal by the province for outstanding community service in 1988.

Jan. 9 – Bjorn Arnason, 92. A butcher, he also served the community. His motto was ‘you make a living by what you earn, but you make a life by what you give’, and he did it by serving with the Kinsmen and Rotary Clubs in Gimli, the town council, the Lutheran Church Council and the Johnson Memorial Hospital. He was the longest serving member of the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba in its history, with more than 50 years, and president of it in 1970 and 1971.

Jan. 9 – Dale Esopenko. Golf was his life. He was the youngest man to be named president of the Manitoba Golf Association. He became the youngest head pro at the Assiniboine Golf Course and stayed there for more than 30 years operating the pro shop.

Jan. 11 – Mary Koltek. She helped the community and her faith. He was on the board of the Children’s Aid Society and the Women’s Auxiliary of the Manitoba Pharmacists Association and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. She served with the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League and was branch president at three churches and was the Manitoba Diocesan president.

Jan. 12 – Jack Lamb, 74. He followed his father’s aviation career into the sky. He also was a president of The Pas Kinsmen Club, a Master of The Pas Masonic Lodge, and a director of both the Air Transport Association of Canada and the Western Canada Aviation Museum. He was a recipient of the 1967 Canada Confederation medal and the museum’s Pioneer in Canadian Aviation award. With his brothers, in 2008 he was honoured by the Manitoba Aviation Council for their contribution to the province’s history.

Jan. 16 – Bill Sciak, 89. He cut the hair of Winnipeg notables — and not so notable — for decades. Known as Bill the Barber, he began cutting hair in his father’s shop at King Street and Alexander Avenue. He cut the hair of lawyers, politicians and director Guy Maddin. When his shop was destroyed in a fire, his clients came together and raised funds so he could relocate.

Jan. 20 – Chris Jensen, 88. Born in Germany and raised in London, Ont., it was all French to him. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago and then began teaching French at the University of Manitoba, rising to be full professor and head of the Department of French, Spanish and Italian for many years. He was known internationally as an interpreter of the Romantic Movement of 19th Century French Literature and was honoured by the Government of France with the Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques. He served on the university’s Senate and was chairman of the editorial board of Mosaic, the university’s literary publication.

Jan. 20 – John Zborowsky, 76. He may not have designed it, but with his construction background, he was the driving force in building the Cook’s Creek Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Jan. 26 – William Barandowski, 64. He was a champion hair stylist. He opened his first shop in the McIntyre Building and then owned Executive Hair and El Coredo for 30 years. He won competitions in Canada and in Europe.

Jan. 24 – Alan Hackett, 88. He loved golf and was so passionate about it he wrote the local history book on it. After retiring from sales at 3M-Canada, he devoted years to researching the history of golf in this province, culminating with the publishing of Manitoba Links, A Kaleidoscopic History of Golf in Manitoba.

Jan. 27 – Richard Cameron, 86. He spent his life advocating for aboriginal people. He was the chief of the Swan Lake First Nation in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was a founder of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council. He worked as a court communicator for the Native Clan organization. He was a trustee on the Pembina Hills School Division and the Swan Lake First nation Treaty Land Entitlement. He was honoured with a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and a medal the Queen gave him in person in The Pas in 1970.

Feb. 4 – Aihlin Walker, 80. She was a national leader in golf. She was president of the Canadian Ladies Golf Association, a member of the women’s council of the World Amateur Golf Council, and vice-chairwoman of the 1999 Pan Am Games’ Festival Committee. She was honoured with induction into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

Feb. 6 – Rhinehart Friesen, 95. He helped save babies. He trained in medicine at the University of Manitoba, but he spent a year in a sanatorium after contracting tuberculosis giving mouth-to-mouth to a dying patient. He went into obstetrics and gynecology and, with Dr. Jack Bowman, performed the first successful intrauterine transfusion to save babies threatened by Rh disease.

Feb. 10 – Pete Vernaus, 79. He ran an auto body shop, but racing was in his blood. He opened the Winnipeg Speedway south of the city in 1973, and owned it until 1994.

Feb. 10 – Noel Later, 77. He’s considered the father of downhill skiing in this province. He was six when he competed in his first ski race, later winning several national medals. As a professional hockey player he trained with Gordie Howe and as a baseball player in summer he once roomed with former New York Yankees manager Billy Martin. With $13, he bought the LaRiviere ski hill turning it into the Holiday Mountain Ski Resort in 1959. He was the first to introduce snowmaking in Canada, later travelling through the United States setting up systems at resorts. He was honoured as the province’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992, and inducted into the Manitoba Ski Hall of Fame in 2001.

Feb. 16 – Franklin Arnold, 87. Returning from serving in the Second World War, he immediately began farming and creating a trucking business with his brother. From a single truck in 1947, they expanded with 19 more in 1953, and by 1958 became Arnold Bros. Transport Ltd.

Feb. 27 – Carol Philipps, 44. She was the founding editor of Swerve, the city’s first gay and lesbian newsmagazine. During her university years, she was also editor of the University of Winnipeg’s student newspaper, The Uniter.

March 3 – Rev. Arthur Leichnitz, 59. He was a pastor who helped steer the direction of the world’s Lutheran faith. He was pastor of the Faith and Grace Lutheran churches in Winnipeg, as well as chaplain at the University of Winnipeg. He became the regional officer for North America with the Lutheran World Federation and was the coordinator of the Lutheran World Federation’s 10th Assembly that was held in Winnipeg in 2003.

March 8 – Hugh Stephenson. He was a prominent citizen during his years in Minnedosa. He owned the local Studebaker dealership which he turned into a General Motors dealership, he was a master of the local Masonic Lodge, served as a town councillor and, from 1969 to 1971, as the mayor.

March 13 – Glen Hirst, 67. He served for 25 years on the Lac du Bonnet town council including 17 years as mayor. He was a driving force in seeing the town’s water plant become reality. But, as a marriage commissioner, he united many Manitobans. He performed more than 400 marriages.

March 23 – Jack Hare, 88. He went from biochemistry to politics. He received a PhD in Biochemistry at Macdonald College (McGill) and began working as an assistant professor in agriculture at the University of West Virginia. He came to Winnipeg to work with National Gran and in 1970 he started his own business J.H. Hare and Associates. He was elected in 1978 to the federal government as the Tory MP from St. Boniface.

March 23 – Arlene Billinkoff. She kept politicians accountable. She joined the Free Press in 1964 and stayed there for three decades. She started in the women’s section, but later covered the legislature. She began writing the Under the Dome column in 1970. She was honoured with a Jubilee medal during the Queen’s Jubilee year in 2002.

March 24 – Roman Manastersky, 58. He promoted Ukrainian dance. He was a member of Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Winnipeg and the Shumka Dancers of Edmonton. He co-founded the Winnipeg School of Ukrainian Folk Dance. He was a board member of the Carpathia Credit Union for 24 years and of the Taras Shevchenko Foundation for nine years.

March 27 – Keith Beard, 82. He officiated his way into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. He began officiating in England in 1948, and more than 50 years later he had officiated at every major provincial, national and international meet here, including an Olympics, three Commonwealth Games, two Pan Am Games and a world championship. He was the first official to be named to the Hall of Fame solely because of his work as a track and field official.

April 8 – Haraldur Bessason. 77. In 1956, he became the first chair of the Icelandic department at the University of Manitoba and was a professor there for 31 years. He was the first president of the University of Akureyri in Iceland in 1987 and held the position until 1994. He was also editor of both Lögberg-Heimskringla and Tímarit hins íslenska �æjóðræknisfélags, a cultural magazine published yearly by the Icelandic National League of Canada. He was honoured with an Honourary Doctor of Law from the U of M and the Order of the Falcon from the Icelandic government.

April 10 – Ella Palmer, 97. Born in Scotland, her family came to Winnipeg when she was a young child. She was believed to be the last surviving witness to several of the violent events of the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919. She didn’t see the streetcar being pushed over, but she did remember seeing RCMP officers on horseback rushing the crowd of strikers downtown and Mike Sokolowski being shot.

April 11 – Rolande Garnier, 82. She used her voice on the stage and for travel. She won the 1952-53 CBC French network radio competition and then toured with the Musical Group of Canada and with Louis Quilico. She sang on TV and radio and as a soloist with orchestras including the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. She performed in several Opera Manitoba and Manitoba Opera Association productions including the Barber of Seville and Carmen, and also starred in Manitoba Theatre Centre and Rainbow Stage productions. Before retiring, she was a spokeswoman for World Adventure Tours.

April 13 – David Penner, 84. He began working as an accountant in a small office on the Prairies and went on to meet kings, queens, prime ministers and presidents. He worked for a construction firm in Winnipeg and became the president of the Manitoba Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association, chairman of the Manitoba Construction Council, and president of the Canadian Construction Association. His work on larger construction projects took him to Middle Eastern and South American countries where he met with the leaders of countries there.

April 13 – Marshall Armstrong. Born Marshall Collison, he changed his name early in his broadcast career. Before starting his media career, he sang with Ronnie and the Nomads in Winnipeg’s ’60s music scene. He worked with radio in Altona, Thompson, Kenora, Toronto, Windsor and Detroit. He was police, crime and consumer affairs reporter at CKY TV in the 1970s and 1980s. He also hosted Forum, the Sunday current affairs talk show.

April 13 – Matt Bellan, 58. He chronicled the city’s Jewish community. He worked for the Regina Leader-Post before becoming editor of the Jewish Post and News in 1982. He held that position until stepping down last year.

April 19 – Isobel Loutit, 99. She was a teacher who helped save her students — and others — during the Second World War. She taught at schools in Mountainside, Rondeau and East Kildonan and was assistant principal in Winnipegosis. During the Second World War, after seeing the names of four of her former students from one town in the list of war casualties, she decided to improve the survival chances of soldiers. She responded to a newspaper ad from the government and became involved in the AA Predictor project, a device that predicted the path of oncoming planes for anti-aircraft guns before radar was invented.

April 22 – Michael Grace, 85. Born in a one-room log cabin and educated in a one-room school house, he graduated from the University of Manitoba as a doctor. He served on numerous boards and committees and was the medical director of Concordia Hospital. He successfully led a group of parents to bring in French Immersion education in Transcona. He was involved in L’Arche for 19 years, some of those years as chairman.

April 25 – Mauchibinesse – Robin Greene Sr., 76. He was born at Big Island in Ontario and devoted his life to aboriginal activism. He became a councillor at the Shoal Lake reserve when he was 16. He later became chief of the reserve for years before becoming Grand Chief of Treaty No. 3, which includes 26 First Nations in Northwestern Ontario and two in Manitoba, for many years. He was instrumental in getting treaty rights into the Canadian Constitution.

May 1 – Marion Lepkin, 85. She worked at the Winnipeg Free Press as a reporter, copy editor and editor. While working as a television critic, she appeared on radio and television shows.

May 3 – Rev. Father Brian Massie, 66. Born in Toronto, he spent 49 years as a Jesuit and 37 years as a Roman Catholic priest. He was the founding director of Camp Ekon in Muskoka and while pastor at St. Peter Claver Church in Jamaica, he was a chaplain to death row prisoners. At the time of his death he was a pastor at St. Ignatius Church in Winnipeg and the religious superior of the city’s Jesuit community.

May 3 – Philip Barker, 75. He specialized in bugs. He received his doctorate in entomology at McGill University and then began his lifelong career at Agriculture Canada as a research scientist. He published research papers on bugs including mites, the rusty grain beetle, and the red flour beetle. He was recognized for outstanding innovation for his discovery of a midge-resistant strain of wheat.

May 3 – Dan Smith, 85. He was honoured for helping people with special needs. He was a member of the Khartum Shrine Centre and was in the Vintage Car Unit and the Khartum Komedians. After retiring from his job at the ticket kiosk in the Portage and Main Concourse, he began volunteering full-time with the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities and the Independent Living Resource Centre. For his volunteering he was given the Canada Volunteer Award Certificate of Merit in 1995 and the National Access Awareness Provincial Achievement Award in 1997.

May 3 – Harold Unger, 83. He co-owned Unger Barber and Jewellers in Steinbach. He was a councillor for 31 years and served as president of the Manitoba Association of Urban Municipalities. He was coach/manager of the Steinbach Huskies in the 1950s and 1960s and was a founding member of the Heritage Village Museum and Steam Club.

May 4 – Horace Cohen, 87. He was a long time local businessman. He was chief executive of Economy Textile Supply Co., the Cuddly Toy Manufacturing Co., and Manitoba Tent and Awning Co. He was president of Shaarey Zedek Synagogue and Glendale Country Club.

May 6 – Alfred Alcock, 88. He was a doctor who spent most of his career caring for polio patients. He was hired by the Municipal Hospitals in its Tuberculosis Service in 1951, becoming the assistant medical director just before the polio outbreak. Because all polio cases went to the Municipal Hospitals, he came home only one day every three weeks during the peak of the outbreak. He stayed at the Municipal Hospitals, becoming medical director in 1955, and cared for polio patients until he retired in 1990. He was instrumental in setting up a home care program for respirator patients and lobbying the government to replace the King George and King Edward Hospitals with the current Riverview.

May 9 – Gladys Cook, 79. A residential school survivor, she went on to help heal other survivors as a substance abuse counsellor. She was the coordinator of the National Native Alcohol Drug Abuse Program in Portage la Prairie and helped at the Women’s Correctional Centre, Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Agassiz Youth Centre, and other programs. The Gladys Cook Education Centre at Agassiz was named in her honour. She was honoured with the Governor General’s Award, the Premier’s Award, the Order of Manitoba, the YM/YWCA Woman of Distinction Award, and the National Aboriginal Achievement Award.

May 11 – John Nowosad, 93. He was active in the Ukrainian community. He was secretary of the Ukrainian Catholic Council of Canada after the Second World War and helped Ukrainian refugees settle in Canada. He was elected president of the Ukrainian National Congress in 1980, was supreme president of the Ukrainian Mutual Benefit Association of St. Nicholas, vice-president of the Children’s Aid Society of Winnipeg, and on the board of St. Boniface General Hospital for 25 years.

May 14 – James Donegani, 88. He was a Lion for charity. He joined the local Lions Club in 1957 and was elected president in 1963. He was president of the Lions Club of Winnipeg Housing Centres from 1997 to 1999, and was named Lion of the Year in 1998. He received the 50-year Monarch Milestone Chevron Award in 2007.

May 14 – Henry Willms, 83. He was a general contractor who helped build health care at Concordia Hospital. He served on the hospital’s board of directors for 40 years and was the board’s chairman for 20 of those years. He also was on the boards of Bethania Personal Care Home and Autumn House.

May 19 – Jim Karvelas, 80. He made his mark in fast food. He immigrated from Greece in 1956, and bought the Red Boot Drive Inn in St. James a few years later. During the more than 45 years he ran the outlet he created and prepared his famous Karvys fries and chili.

May 25 – Lawrence Aubin, 73. Gardening was in his blood. His father founded Aubin Nurseries in Carman, but after a tragic car accident he and his mother ran the business for decades. He was president of the Manitoba Landscaping Association and president of the Canadian Nursery Growers Association. In his community, he was president of the Carman Golf Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He was recognized twice by the province for his contributions to his community.

May 30 – Gerald Folkerts, 51. He was a visual artist known for his Christian-themed paintings. His paintings were displayed in several group and solo exhibitions across North America and he was an award winner at both the Manitoba Society of Artists shows and the Imago Christian Art Exhibition in Toronto.

May 27 – Don Barton, 65. He was known as the father of high school hockey in Winnipeg. He was a teacher and physical education co-ordinator in the St. James School Division who rose to be vice-principal at Sturgeon Creek Collegiate. He was instrumental in starting up high school hockey in the province and was a board member of the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association.

June 2 – Bryant Gunhouse, 77. He worked in passenger rail travel but in retirement he helped bolster the safety of senior citizens. He worked at CN Rail and rose to become VIA Rail’s west regional manager – operations. He was president of VIA Rail’s Manitoba and Saskatchewan Pensioners’ Association. He chaired the Network of Retirees’ Associations in Manitoba and adapted the Watch Program of the National Sheriffs’ Association in the United States into the Emergency Response Information Kit (ERIK), for seniors who live alone or who have caregivers, which has been adopted by most senior organizations here.

June 4 – Chrys Iwanchuk, 65. He was a Crown attorney and then a defence lawyer who was honoured by being named a Queen’s Counsel. He was active in the Ukrainian community and served on the executive of the Ukrainian Canadian Students Union. He served on the civil liberties committee of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and was chosen by the Canadian government to monitor the free democratic election in Ukraine in 2004.

June 8 – Ken Wylie, 88. He was a pediatrician who promoted medicine at both a local and national level. He began practicing in 1952. He was president of the Canadian Paediatrics Society, the Manitoba Medical Association, and Canadian Medical Association. He was honoured twice with the Queen’s Medal for dedicated service.

June 11 – Irene Baron, 86. She was a nurse who ,with her husband, specialized in caring for seniors. The couple bought their first nursing home, called the Baron Nursing Home, in 1960. They went on to purchase or build the Arcadia Nursing Home, the Maples Personal Care Home, River East Personal Care Home, and the supportive housing Irene Baron Eden Centre.

June 14 – Dorothy Kozak, 77. She was one of the province’s top athletes. She was the province’s best female athlete in 1953. She won the bronze medal as part of the Canadian women’s relay team at the British Empire Games in 1954. She was part of the relay team that didn’t medal, but broke a Canadian record, at the 1956 Olympics in Australia. That same year, she broke the Canadian record for the women’s broad jump. She later won the A singles at the Manitoba Five Pin Bowling Association championship.

June 19 – Doreen Craton, 91. She was a teacher who taught the Winnipeg School Division about human rights. She became a high school business education teacher at 50, but when the school division said she had to retire at age 65, she fought all the way to the Supreme Court to stay. She was successful, opening the door for other Manitobans to retire later.

June 19 – Tom Yauk, 65. He was a city planner who rose to become one of the top civil servants with the city of Winnipeg. He retired as the city’s Commissioner of Planning and Community Services and then went on to be president of the Housing Opportunity Partnership, president of the Canadian Association of Housing and Renewal Officials.

June 21 – Gwen Axworthy, 92. She volunteered with her church, helping set up the United Church’s national audio visual education service, chaired the committee that led to the Riverside Lions Club constructing a new personal care home, served on the National Parole Board, and volunteered with the Liberal Party of Manitoba and the election campaigns of her son Lloyd.

June 21 – Ruby Roe, 82. She was a teacher who became a community builder. She taught in schools in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and retired in Stonewall. There she helped initiate REACT, an environmental organization which preserved a patch of tallgrass prairie in the town. In her honour, in 2008 the town named it the Ruby Roe Tallgrass Prairie.

June 25 – Gordon Evans, 87. An accountant, he worked for the city. He started in St. James-Assiniboia and worked his way up by 1971 to become the amalgamated city’s finance commissioner.

June 27 – Tom Panopoulos, 82. He was one of the last of the Greek immigrant restaurant owners from the 1950s. His first restaurant was The Manhattan, followed by The Original Manhattan Drive-In, and The Original Food Bar.

June 27 – Ken Hamilton, 91. He was a minister who went on to become a theology professor at the University of Winnipeg. He was known for being the publishing professor because for years he wrote a book a year – he wrote 31. He painted watercolours and for years proceeds from an annual sale went to fund purchases by the university’s library, the largest annual fund raising event organized for the library. The Kenneth and Alice Hamilton Galleria at the university was named in his and his wife’s honour.

July 12 – Doris Barr, 88. She went from Starbuck to become a baseball star. She began playing with the Winnipeg Ramblers in 1937 and then the Regina Army and Navy Bombers. She then bounced around six teams with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1943 to 1950. Her pitching arm brought her into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., as well as both the Canadian and Manitoba Hall of Fames.

July 18 – Clifton Monk, 90. His leadership helped mold the social conscience of the Lutheran Church in Canada. He was the first executive secretary of the Canadian Lutheran World Relief in Winnipeg in 1947. He was the Canadian Lutheran Council’s executive secretary in the division of welfare and then social services. He was a consultant in social ministry to the Lutheran Church in America – Canadian section from 1976 to 1983.

July 20 – Edythe MacDonald, 78. She drafted some of the country’s most important legislation. Born in Winnipeg and graduating in law from the University of Manitoba, she joined the Department of Justice and was responsible for drafting The Divorce Act, The Canadian Grains Act, and the portions of the Canadian Constitution containing women’s rights. She was later appointed a Court of Queen’s Bench justice in Niagara South (Welland).

July 22 – Paul Morrisseau, 83. He enlisted in the Canadian Army when he was only 15 during the Second World War. He is reported to be the last aboriginal Second World War veteran in Manitoba. He was later elected chief of Fort Alexander, now the Sagkeeng First Nation.

July 23 – Al Patterson, 90. He was a business teacher who threw his hat into politics. He worked for the Dominion Tire Company and T. Eaton store in Winnipeg before going back to university and joining the business faculty of the University of Western Ontario after getting his MBA there. He later got his PhD at the University of Minnesota and joined the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Administrative Studies in 1974. He retired as an associate professor in 1988 after being elected as the Liberal MLA for Radisson under leader Sharon Carstairs. He was a member of the board of the Winnipeg Public Library and the Winnipeg Library Foundation. In 2002 he received a Queen’s Golden Jubilee medal.

July 31 – Diane Bampton, 50. Waterfront Drive is her legacy. She was a successful businesswomen who began at Manitoba Hydro and worked her way up through the business community to become president and CEO of CentreVenture. While there, she was instrumental in the development of Waterfront Drive.

Aug. 3 – Bill Woloshyn, 75. He brought music to people in Western Canada. With his wife, Mary, in 1964, he founded the Interlake Polka Kings. They became one of the most popular bands in western Canada playing Ukrainian music. He played the accordion and the band recorded several CDs.

Aug. 9 – Peggy Johnson, 67. Better known by her maiden name, Peggy Neville was an entertainer who began on CBC’s Red River Jamboree in the 1960s and then, as her fame grew, starred in the Peggy Neville Show, the first program broadcast in colour in Canada, in 1966.

Aug. 17 – Marge Trynacity, 76. She helped art protect boats in Gimli. She loved art and she served several terms as president of the Gimli Art Club. While there she became a driving force in putting works of art on the seawall at the harbour.

Aug. 17 – Clifford Maytwayashing, 70. He picked up the fiddle when he was five and never put it down. He held the title of fiddling champion at the Manitoba Indian Days for eight consecutive years and he released CDs, including Skiffle Fiddle which was named Best Fiddle CD of 2006 at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.

Aug. 17 – Roger Savoie, 78. Football was what he excelled in. He played with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1950 to 1965, was in seven Grey Cups, and was awarded the Tommy Lumsden Memorial Trophy for top Canadian linesman in 1956, and a CFL all star in 1962. He was inducted into the Blue Bomber Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. He was honoured with the Order of the Buffalo Hunt in 1957.

Aug. 18 – Father Alois Krivanek, 90. Born in Czechoslovakia, he came to Canada in 1951 and began ministering at locations in Saskatchewan. After a brief stint as hospital chaplain in California, he took responsibility for the Polish parish of St. Michael’s in Cooks Creek. He created one of the province’s star attractions, the Cooks Creek Heritage Museum, which celebrates the early pioneers from the region of Eastern Europe known as Galicia.

Aug. 21 – Chris McCubbins. A distance runner, he was the steeplechase champion at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and represented Canada in the 1976 Olympic games. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and Athletics Manitoba has named the provincial cross-country championship in his honour. The Cross Country Ski Association Manitoba has also renamed its Great Get Off Your Butt program at Windsor Park Nordic Centre in his honour.

Aug. 22 – Mihael Zobarich, 70. He was born in Slovenia and celebrated that country’s culture in Canada. He came to Canada in 1960 and had a dental crown and bridge business. He was president of the Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society and he founded the first Slovenian radio show on CJOB in the 1970s. He co-founded the Zvon Singers.

Aug. 22 – Edith Baker, 93. She was known by her family for her baking. She made great apple pies, chocolate chip cookies and Denver sandwiches, but it was one of her candies her children and grandchildren loved. One of the grandchildren turned the concoction into the successful Clodhoppers Candy.

Sept. 11 – John McGoey, 92. He was a doctor who looked after our local sports heroes. He was a doctor at the Manitoba Clinic, General, Children’s, and Deer Lodge hospitals. He was the original chief medical officer for the Winnipeg Jets in the World Hockey Association and was a director and on the medical staff of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for many years. He was one of the original funders of the indoor hockey arena at the River Heights Community Club.

Sept. 17 – Margaret Bishop, 82. She had a passion for books to help sick children. Her day job was with Canada Mortgage and Housing, but for more than 50 years she volunteered to help children’s health care. Her push to help children’s health care may have been sparked by the two years she spent in the Ninette Sanitorium while in her teens. She was a longtime board member of the Children’s Hospital Foundation and a quarter-century member of the Chown Guild of the hospital. She was a founding member of the Children’s Hospital Book Market and during the last 49 years of marking prices on books she became known as the Pocket Book Lady.

Sept. 18 – Bill Tibbs. Hockey and insurance were his passions. He went from being a claims adjuster in Sault Ste. Marie to president of the Insurance Institute of Manitoba, the Manitoba Insurance Adjusters Association, and vice-president of the Insurance Institute of Canada. But he was also a hockey goalie. Serving as backup goalie to Terry Sawchuk on the Detroit Red Wings, his name is on the Stanley Cup for 1952. He also was awarded the International Hockey League’s James Norris Memorial Trophy for allowing the fewest goals during the 1955-56 season for the Troy Bruins.

Sept. 19 – Clifford Palmer, 69. Selling property was his life and he helped many people own houses who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. He co-founded Re/Max Real Estate in Winnipeg and then went on to open Realty Executives First Choice. He was president of the Winnipeg Real Estate Board. He founded the Housing Opportunity Partnership (HOP) in Winnipeg — a not-for-profit inner city housing revitalization initiative which upgrades homes and then sells them to new homeowners — after hearing about the program in the United States.

Sept. 22 – John Rankin, 95. He helped the community while he farmed. He was a councillor in the RM of Hamiota and later the mayor of Hamiota. He served the 4-H, Oakner United Church, the public school system at the local, division and provincial levels, and hospital and health related boards locally and provincially. He was also president of the Manitoba Society of Seniors. He was named to the Order of the Buffalo Hunt in 1991 for his many years of community service.

Sept. 27 – George McCloy, 87. He began with CJOB when it began broadcasting and he was still there when he retired in 1987 after 41 years. He was the host of many programs including the Shut-Ins Program, Problem Corner, The Western Hour, Ladies Choice, and numerous Bombers game broadcasts. He’s also responsible for being the first to flip a Joey Gregorash record over to play the B side and help make Together (The New Wedding Song) a hit.

Oct. 3 – Bill Palk, 97. He was a lawyer who not only became a top local Eatons executive but also helped the community. He helped numerous local organizations, but it was the United Way and YMCA that were closest to him. He was the first campaign chairman for the United Way of Greater Winnipeg which raised $2.7 million, exceeding its goal by $90,000. For his voluntary contributions, he was named captain in the Order of the Buffalo Hunt.

Oct. 6 – Walter Shmon, 95. He was a trapper who ended up helping northern communities affected by flooding for hydro projects. He was born and raised in Gilbert Plains and then moved to northern Manitoba to trap and deliver mail by dog team. He started a mink ranch in the Sherridon area and later bought the Hotel Cambrian. He was mayor of Sherridon for 14 years. He forced a settlement for the people affected by a hydro project that flooded South Indian Lake. He wrote the book, Dick Madole, King of the North. In 1977, Shmon ran for the provincial Liberal party in Flin Flon.

Oct. 16 – Barry Valentine, 82. He was the first Anglican Bishop elected by the Synod of Rupert’s Land. During his leadership, from 1970 to 1982, women were allowed to be ordained to the priesthood in his diocese.

Oct. 18 – Gerry Morrow. 75. He was born in Melita and helped that community his whole life. He worked with his dad at Morrow’s Pharmacy there and later bought it. He was mayor of Melita for nine years, served as chairman of the Melita Centennial Committee, and volunteered for other projects and groups there.

Oct. 19 – Louis Berkal, 95. He was synonymous with Shaarey Zedek Synagogue for more than 50 years. He joined the synagogue in 1954 and touched thousands of lives as a cantor and assistant rabbi there until 2004.

Oct. 20 – Jacob Dyck, 87. He was a teacher who became a doctor. He taught school for a few years before becoming a conscientious objector during the Second World War. Going back to school after the war, he became a doctor who rose to become president of the Winnipeg Medical Society, president of the Manitoba Medical Association, and president of the Canadian Medical Association. He was also president of Westgate Mennonite Collegiate and president of Christian Investors in Education.

Oct. 31 – Vincenzo De Luca, 96. Born in Italy, his name became synonymous with Italian foods to many Winnipeggers. He came to Canada and later opened De Luca’s food store with his sons.

Nov. 6 – Sidney Rappaport. Born in New York in 1927, he achieved his rabbinical confirmation in 1951, and began his rabbinical career in Pennsylvania. He came to Winnipeg in 1967 and became the spiritual leader of the Rosh Pina Synagogue. He held that position until 1988 when he became Rabbi Emeritus.

Nov. 10 – Asher Webb, 49. He helped his community. He served on the board of the Graffiti Gallery, the Osborne Village Cultural Centre/Gas Station Theatre, and the Winnipeg BIZ Association. He was the executive director of the Osborne Village Biz from 1996 to 2007, where he created the Canada Day street festival there.

Nov. 11 – Helen Robertson, 94. She opened the world of books to children. Armed with a bachelor of library science from the University of Toronto in 1936, she rose to become the Children’s Librarian for Winnipeg. She wrote a Winnipeg Tribune column called the Children’s Bookshelf and was chairwoman of the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s section.

Nov. 12 – Irene Grant, 95. She went from being an only Girl Guide to being a pioneer in women’s equality. While living on her family’s farm near Niverville, she became the first Lone Girl Guide in the province. She successfully fought for a precedent allowing women to continue teaching after getting married. She was also instrumental in changing other gender inequalities including the rule that women teachers had to retire five years earlier than men. She volunteered with numerous organizations and was instrumental in founding the Fort Garry Women’s Resource Centre. She was honoured with the federal Order of the persons award in 1990 and the province’s Order of Manitoba in 2005.

Nov. 12 – Vince Burr, 89. His day job was with the department of Veteran’s Affairs, but after hours he helped childrens’ education and the community. He was trustee and chairman of the Seven Oaks School Division. He was president of the Adanac Credit Union and a director of the Last Post Fund. He was president of the West St. Paul Curling Club and a president of the Association of Manitoba Curling Clubs.

Nov. 13 – Eric MacPherson, 78. His life added up in helping students with mathematics and education. He was a professor, associate dean and dean in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. He produced an award winning science series for CBC and was awarded the Wilderness Award for the best public affairs television broadcast in Canada. He co-authored several best selling mathematics textbooks and in the 1970s and 1980s was one of the leading mathematics educators and keynote speakers in North America.

Nov. 14 – John Scurfield, 57. He was a lawyer who became a respected judge. He became a prominent mediator and mediated the end to a 23-day University of Manitoba professors’ strike in 1995. He was a Manitoba Liberal party president and president of the Law Society of Manitoba. He was appointed a Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench justice in 2002, serving as a judge in many high profile trials including finding Vince Li not criminally responsible for the July 2008 slaying of 22-year-old Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus.

Nov. 16 – Harry Taylor, 83. He followed his hockey dream to a trio of championship cups. He was born in St. James and played junior hockey there before joining the Winnipeg Monarchs and helping win the Memorial Cup in 1945-46. He turned professional and joined the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning the Stanley Cup in 1948-49. He then went to the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Barons and won the Calder Cup in 1950-51.

Nov. 17 – Gwen Blake, 79. She went from being a beauty queen to helping the hungry at Christmas. She was crowned the Flin Flon Trout Festival’s first beauty queen in 1951. She opened Blake Jeweller’s and was involved for years with the Minnedosa Christmas Cheer Board for more than 20 years, many of those years as chairwoman.

Nov. 23 – Sam Lutfiyya, 53. He was a backstage power in music. His Winnipeg-based company, Music Services International, hired musicians for the biggest touring music productions on the road, including Mamma Mia!, Showboat, Cats and Jersey Boys.

Dec. 2 – Ethel Harrison, 77. She helped the local scouting movement. She was the leader of the scout and cub troops at St. Matthews Church. She attended world scouting jamborees in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Among other honours, she was awarded the 55-year medal of service to scouting, the City of Winnipeg Community Service Award by Mayor Steve Juba, and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.

Dec. 2 – Geiri Johnson, 89. His first plane ride as a teenager led to him creating an airline. He earned his pilot’s licence when he was in his thirties. He then created an airline, Northway Aviation, which started in Arnes and Willow Island, but now is based at St. Andrews Airport, which serves aboriginal communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. He also built a fishing lodge, SasaGinniGak Lodge.

Dec. 7 – Bill Pruitt, 87. He was called the Father of North American boreal ecology. He was born in Marylanddid post-graduate work in zoology. He helped lead the first successful protest of the American nuclear establishment which stopped the detonation of six nuclear explosions to create a harbour in Alaska in the late 1950s. He was later honoured for that stand by the Alaskan government in 1993. He did the initial boundary studies for Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. While teaching at the University of Manitoba, he launched the Taiga Biological Station in the boreal forest.

Dec. 8 – Joan McLaren, 77. She was a teacher who was honoured for her commitment to women in education. She taught at several schools including Gordon Bell High School. After getting her PhD in administrative studies, she rose to become director of program and staff development at Red River College. After retirement, she began giving Tarot card readings and taught Tarot. She was honoured with the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in 2001 for her deep commitment to women in education.

Dec. 14 – Harold Macdonald, 81. He was called to religion, but his passion for social justice led him into politics. He was an Anglican priest who served at several Winnipeg churches including St. Luke’s Parish and All Saints, as well as churches in the Yukon and Saskatchewan. While in Winnipeg, he served as a city councillor for nine years.

Dec. 18 – Miriam Hutton, 77. She was a social worker who left a legacy for her daughter to help others. She taught social work at the University of Manitoba and later became head of the social work department at the University of Botswana. When her daughter Jocelyn died of cancer in the family home in 1980, she and her husband William created Jocelyn House Hospice, western Canada’s first freestanding hospice, in their former home.

Dec. 20 – Douglas Scott, 80. Telephones were his career, but military was his passion. He apprenticed at MTS and worked his way up to management in the engineering department. He served two years as president of the MTS Telephone Pioneers. He joined the militia when he was 17 and rose to serve as Colonel and Commanding Officer of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles from 1972 to 1975, deputy commander of the Prairie Militia area and president of the Canadian Infantry Association.

Dec. 22 – Kendra McBain, 18. She was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma when she was only 15, but she still excelled at school, as well as on her volleyball team and in debating. While being treated, she organized Kendra’s Walk to raise money to refurbish the teen room at CancerCare Manitoba and for research. The walk was held on May 29 and eventually raised $160,000.