Businessman, community activist.
Born at Hamiota on 20 January 1919, son of Edward Alexander Whyte (1882-1937) and Sarah “Alma” Irvine (1887-1957), he lived at Hamiota for 20 years before enlisting in the Fort Garry Horse at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. He rose to Sergeant Major and served overseas from 1944 to 1946. Returning to Canada from military duty, he ran a fur ranching business at Grand Marais until a heart condition forced his retirement. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1953 provincial general election.
In 1941, he married Ellen Mary Trainor (1919-1997) and had three children. He served as School Trustee (1959-1992) with the Lord Selkirk School Division, was Secretary of St. Michael’s Church at Victoria Beach, and Vice-President of the Grand Marais Community Curling Club (1957). He played hockey for the Canadian Army team, coached hockey locally, and was an active curler.
He died at his home in Victoria Beach on 2 May 1998 and was buried in Victoria Beach Cemetery. He is commemorated by Walter Whyte School (formerly Walter Whyte Collegiate) at Grand Marais.
Obituary [Ellen Mary Whyte], Winnipeg Free Press, 8 January 1997, page B8.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 6 May 1998, page C7.
The East Side of the Red: A Centennial Project of the Rural Municipality of St. Clements, 1884-1984 by the St. Clements Historical Society, 1984.
Whyte/Reid family tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 September 2018
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