Journalist, photographer, historian.
Born at Morris on 2 March 1956 to Sydney and Helen Reimer, she was raised at Rosenort in a house by the river. From an early age, she was extraordinarily curious about the world and a gifted story teller. In 1974, she graduated from Rosenort Collegiate and excelled as a student. That same year she married her high-school sweetheart, James “Jim” Heinrichs, and they went on to have five children of their own, as well as fostering others. They made their home on a hog farm near Rosenort. In 1986, when hog prices bottomed out, they had to sell the farm and move into town, where her husband took over G. K. Braun Insurance from father-in-law Sydney.
She listened to and watched the CBC diligently, which led her to embark on a journalistic career, taking over her grandfather’s weekly column in the Scratching River Post, published in Morris. Soon, her assignments at the weekly newspaper were taking her all over the local countryside, and in those earlier days she often had to take her toddlers with her. Eventually, she had the opportunity now and then to contribute to the CBC.
Her interest in unearthing and researching stories about Manitoba’s Indigenous community began when she was assigned to cover a story at the nearby Roseau River First Nation. Unfamiliar with the town and its people, she took on the challenge with some trepidation, but was immediately captivated by the culture, and thereafter made reporting from First Nation communities all over northern Manitoba and Ontario a priority. She also wrote the histories of the Mishkeegogamang and Big Trout Lake First Nations, and launched a consultancy, Rosetta Projects, which organized community health assessments, fire and flood evacuations, and research projects for isolated settlements. Upon the death of their teen-aged son Tom in a car accident, she and her husband began providing foster care in their home for Indigenous children.
She worked for Golden West Broadcasting and sat on various boards, including a women’s shelter and regional health authorities. She enjoyed travel, gardening, cooking, journaling, and books.
She died in a car crash near Morris on 9 November 2010 and was buried in the Rosenort Evangelical Mennonite Cemetery.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 13 November 2010.
“Marjorie Anne Heinrichs,” Maclean’s Magazine, 16 December 2010.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 7 October 2025
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.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
