Publisher, municipal official.
Born at Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, son of John and Annie MacKenzie, he came to Portage la Prairie during the Second World War as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. There he served with Wilford H. Vopni. Following his military discharge in 1946, he returned to Portage la Prairie and joined Vopni in ownership of the Graphic Liberal Printing Company, publishers of the Portage Daily Graphic and Portage Leader. They later purchased the MacGregor Herald and Neepawa Press. In 1970, he purchased full interest in Vopni Press Limited and he was President and Publisher until 1989. He served as President of the Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association, President of Manitoba Community Newspapers Association, and Mayor of Portage la Prairie (1999-2005). He died at Portage la Prairie on 30 December 2014.
“Former Portage la Prairie mayor dies,” Winnipeg Sun, 31 December 2014.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 3 January 2015.
We thank Frances Kasper for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 April 2023
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:
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
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!
