Broadcaster, DJ.
Born at Winnipeg on 2 June 1940 to Sarah Evelyn Paull (1919-1989) and Douglas Charles Alfred Robertson (1917-1986), he grew up in the River Heights community, where he attended Kelvin High School and met Carolyn June Hammell (1941-2004). They married in 1962 and went on to have two children.
Always captivated by music, in his teens he produced the music for graduation ceremonies at River Heights Junior High School as one of his early forays into DJ-ing. Although he had intended to study Dentistry at the University of Manitoba, he became involved with the campus radio station instead, which formed the basis of a long career in the entertainment industry. He was well known as a radio broadcaster—with CKRC and CJOB in Winnipeg, as well as at stations in Yorkton (Saskatchewan), Kenora (Ontario), and Brandon. He also found a market for supplying dance music for parties, and began a mobile recorded dance music company, Garry Robertson Music Services. He took his light shows and DJ services across Canada.
Later, after retiring, he recognized another market in Winnipeg, nostalgia radio, and became involved in the business once again. He convened a meeting of 23 interested persons at his home in September 2006. From that, CJNU Radio was born and went on the air only three months later as a member-owned and -operated co-operative. He was honoured for his contributions to the industry in 2011 when he received a CJNU Builder’s Award from the Nostalgia Broadcasting Cooperative, and in 2012 made an honorary board member of the station. Beyond his talent and enthusiasm for his work, he was appreciated for his sense of humour, storytelling, and optimism.
He died at Winnipeg on 3 August 2012 and was buried in the St. Vital Cemetery.
Obituary [Carolyn June Robertson], Winnipeg Free Press, 28 December 2004.
“Winnipeg’s Garry Robertson passes away,” Radio West, 4 August 2012.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 August 2012.
“Garry Douglas Robertson,” Thiessen Family tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 29 August 2026
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