Memorable Manitobans: Wilfred Robert “Wilf” DeGraves (1928-2015)

Lawyer, judge.

Born at St. Boniface on 28 March 1928, son of Maurice and Zelma DeGraves, the following year the family moved to a dairy farm at Lilyfield which they moved in 1934 to Headingley. As a teenager, he moved to Winnipeg and attended Kelvin High School and St. Paul’s College (BA 1950). He then attended the the University of Manitoba Law School, graduated in 1954, and articled with C. W. Brock QC and the firm of Thorvaldson, Eggertson, Bastin and String. Called to the Manitoba Bar in 1954, he practiced law until 1985 and was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1966. He served as a Puisne Judge on the Court of Queen’s Bench from 1985 until retirement in 2003, presiding in English and French, and serving as a mediator and arbitrator. He also served as a trial judge in the North West Territories. In recognition of his community service, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002). He died at the Grace Hospital on 23 October 2015.

Sources:

“12 men named Queen’s Counsel,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 1966, page 4.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 28 October 2015.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 28 October 2015

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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