Curler.
Born at Glenboro on 14 December 1900, son of Adam Albert Gowanlock (1860-1930) and Mary Elizabeth Winnifred Thomas (1870-1925), he began curling at an early age, joining the Glenboro Curling Club in 1916 and serving as its President (1928-1929). Employed by the Manitoba Department of Public Works, he was a member of the Fort Brandon Curling Club (1939-1941) until he moved to Dauphin in 1941. He was President of the Dauphin Curling Club in 1944.
Known by the nickname “Spats” for wearing them over his curling shoes, he skipped two of the three rinks from outside Greater Winnipeg that represented Manitoba at the Brier between 1927 and 1957, winning both times (1938 and 1953). He was made a Life Member of the Manitoba Curling Association (1951) and was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1975), Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1984), and Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame (1987).
On 2 December 1937, he married Esther Lilly Kemp (1902-1985) at Winnipeg and they had a daughter. He owned a large steam-powered tractor that was subsequently donated to the Manitoba Agricultural Museum.
He died at Dauphin on 27 September 1988 and was buried in the Dauphin Community Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Katz House (38 Fifth Avenue NE, Dauphin)
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Death registrations [Mary Elizabeth Winnifred Thomas, Adam Albert Gowanlock], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Albert Adam Gowanlock, Esther Lilly Kemp], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Esther Lilly Gowanlock], Dauphin Herald, 15 October 1985, page 35.
“Gowanlock dies at 87,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 September 1988, page 70.
“Ab Gowanlock passes away at 87,” Swan Valley Star and Times, 6 October 1988, page 11.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, December 1999, 288 pages.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Rick Mutton and Doug Pratt on providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 12 July 2026
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