Community activist.
Born at Winnipeg on 12 July 1960 to Anne Bonazew (1930-2002) and Raymond “Ray” Lorne Webb (1931-2006), his passion for helping people and building community developed early. He won citizenship awards while attending General Byng School, and after moving with his family to Faro, Yukon, he went on to serve as Student Council president at Del Van Gorder School. After graduating in 1978, he was chosen to represent Yukon as a Page in the House of Commons while he attended the University of Ottawa, studying Linguistics.
He loved the arts, and his talent for dancing and performing took him to Vancouver for a time in the early 1980s. While there, he organized Vancouver’s first hospice for HIV/AIDS patients. Upon returning to Winnipeg, he worked with the Fringe Festival and served on the boards of the Graffiti Gallery, Osborne Village Cultural Centre/Gas Station Theatre, Oscar Wilde Memorial Society, and Winnipeg BIZ Association. After graduating from Red River College’s Computer Programmer course in 1986, he worked as the Information Systems Manager at the Village Clinic (now called Nine Circles Community Health Centre), and co-ordinated Winnipeg’s first public conference on HIV/AIDS. In 1987, he organized the city’s first gay pride parade.
As the Executive Director of Winnipeg’s Osborne Village BIZ (1996-2007), he worked tirelessly to bring in new businesses and help make the area safe and desirable. He created one of the city’s most popular Canada Day street festivals in Osborne Village. Devoted to promoting equal rights for all, he went on to become a project coordinator for the B’nai Brith Human Rights Awards and was one of the founders of Gio’s Club and Bar, where he served as its genial bartender and board member. He served in many other capacities within Winnipeg’s gay community, including one of the campaign leaders to elect Glenn Murray for Mayor. Throughout his life he was generous with his time while asking little in return, devoting a large part of his life helping others and campaigning for human rights causes.
He died at Winnipeg on 10 November 2009. After his death, his family established the Richard (Asher) Webb Justice Activist Memorial Award that recognizes Red River College students who inspire others to further equity, inclusion, and social justice through community engagement.
Obituary [Anne Webb], Winnipeg Free Press, 20 October 2002.
Obituary [Raymond Lorne Webb], Winnipeg Free Press, 3 June 2006.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 14 November 2009.
“Richard Lorne (Asher) Webb,” Charles Family Tree, Ancestry.
“A legacy of caring: New scholarship launched in memory of local activist,” RRC Polytech, 20 September 2017.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 30 August 2025
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