Memorable Manitobans: Douglas Thomas Muirhead (1922-2005)

Musician.

Born at Portage la Prairie on 19 December 1922 to Margaret McDonald (1892-1940) and Thomas Muirhead (1894-1964), he graduated from Portage Collegiate Institute and then served his country in the Second World War. In 1945, he married Audrey Waterman (1924-1994) in Vancouver, and returned home to settle in Portage. They went on to have four children.

An accomplished violinist, he played with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and Portage’s Little Symphony. Later in life he took up fiddling and became the International Senior Men’s Fiddling Champion and the Manitoba Open Champion. His real pleasure, however, lay in the social side of being a fiddler, meeting and entertaining people. He played with a band called Brooker's Bombshells, and later formed his own band. He also taught a number of youngsters the violin and enjoyed a special kinship with those students throughout his life.

He was a founding member of the Portage Kinsmen (Worshipful Grand Master of Assiniboine Lodge #7), and a member of the Portage Legion, Portage Tennis Club, and Portage Curling Club. With his talent for growing flowers and plants, he was well known in the community for his colourful garden, where he spent countless hours planning and cultivating his plots.

He died at Portage la Prairie on 18 September 2005.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 20 September 2005.

“Douglas Thomas Morrow,” IsaacsMcCombAndMorrow Family Tree, Ancestry.

This page was prepared by Lois Braun.

Page revised: 26 May 2022

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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