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William Bruce Parrish
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Business executive.
Born at Winnipeg on 8 May 1926, son of Frederick William Parrish and Vera Eileen Cadle (1900-1961), he was educated locally. In 1943, he began studying Agriculture at the University of Manitoba but soon left to join the Canadian Army. After his military discharge in 1946, he joined the staff of Parrish & Heimbecker, serving successively as Executive Vice-President (?-?), President (1989-1999) and Chairman (2009-?). He was also a director of New Life Mills Limited and The Great Lakes Elevator Company Limited, and Chairman of the Grain Insurance & Guarantee Company.
On 14 July 1954, he married Donna Marie McInnes (1930-2024, daughter of John Stewart McInnes) and they had two sons and a daughter. Active in the community, he was Chairman of The Winnipeg Foundation (1993-1996), Winnipeg Grain Exchange (1967-1968), and Health Sciences Centre (?-?), and President of the Canadian Cancer Society (Manitoba Division) and Manitoba Club (1992).
In recognition of his community service, he was inducted into the Order of Canada (1995). He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manitoba (1996), and a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).
See also:
Manitoba Business: Parrish & Heimbecker
“Social & personal notes,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 July 1954, page 15.
Obituary [Vera Eileen Parrish], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 June 1961, page 47.
Grist for the Mill: My Life in the Grain Business by William B. Parrish, Kentville (Nova Scotia): Gaspereau Press Limited, 2009, 167 pages.
Obituary [Donna Marie Parrish], Winnipeg Free Press, 12 October 2024.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 12 October 2024
