Obituary of Frederick George McGuinness

McGUINNESS: The death occurred in Brandon, MB of Frederick George McGuinness on March 22, 2011. In Fred's own words: He was born in Brandon in 1921 and attended Park and Earl Oxford Schools before quitting to work for CP Telegraph, first as messenger and later as Morse operator. At the outbreak of WW II he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and served as wireless operator of HMCS Alachasse. In 1940, he was seriously injured in a shipboard accident that ended his wartime service. He studied in Winnipeg at St. Paul's College, United College and the University of Manitoba. He began his career in newspapers as editor and publisher of the Medicine Hat News. In 1966, he transferred to the Brandon Sun where he worked for the next 30 years. Fred McGuinness may have written more words about Brandon and Westman than any other scribe. Along with his administrative duties for the newspaper, he also wrote a three-times-a-week around-town column under the name of F. A. Rosser. Along with his writing duties for the newspaper, Fred McGuinness maintained a continuing flow of copy for other media. For CBC, he was writer-commentator for the weekly broadcast "Neighbourly News from the Prairies". For close to 20 years he was a regular correspondent for the broadcast "Morningside". He was also the editor or co-editor of a dozen books of social history. He also wrote many feature articles for Reader's Digest. He had a deep and continuing interest in anniversaries. This stemmed from the three years he spent as executive director of the Saskatchewan Golden Jubilee. The success of this event led to his appointment as a director of the Canadian Centennial Commission in 1967. For his writings and his volunteer activities he received numerous awards. From the Manitoba government he received the Order of the Buffalo Hunt and the Order of Manitoba. When she presented him with his Order of Canada, Governor General Clarkson described him as the voice of the Prairies. He was also awarded an honorary degree from Brandon University. He was predeceased in 2009 by his wife of sixty-one years, the former Christine Thomson of Port Arthur; and his sisters Mary Oldfield, Ruth McGuinness and Dorreen Inglis. Fred is survived by his daughter Colleen, of Vancouver; sons Fred Jr., Duncan, BC; Gallagher of Brandon and Timothy in Vancouver and; and two sisters, Carol Young of Langley, BC and Orma Longphee of Sidney, BC. He was very proud of his four grandsons and two granddaughters. In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the "Fred McGuinness Endowment" that he established at Brandon University, 270-18th Street, Brandon, MB R7A 6A9.