Memorable Manitobans: Reginald Elmer “Reg” Forbes (1924-2015)

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Reginald Elmer Forbes
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Community activist.

Born on his family’s farm near Rorketon on 16 September 1924, his childhood was spent near Dauphin. During the Second World War, he served for two years as a navigator in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Returning from military duty, he attended the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1949 with a degree in Agriculture. He began working as an Agricultural Representative at Pilot Mound then, in 1956, was appointed Principal of the Agricultural Extension Centre at Brandon. He was the Manitoba representative on the Hall Commission on Grain Handling and Transportation (1975-1977), President (1970-1971) and General Manager (1977-1979) of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, Director of the Grain Handling and Transportation Section of the Manitoba Department of Agriculture (1979-1983), and Industrial Commissioner for the Brandon Industrial Commission (1983-1986).

Active in the community, he served as Chair of the Agricultural Advisory Committee to the CBC (1978-1981), Director and President of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, Chair of the Board for the Keystone Centre, Chair of the Brandon Economic Development Board, President of the Agricultural Institute of Canada (1970-1971), President of the Canadian Society of Rural Extension, President of the Manitoba Institute of Agrologists, President the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, and a member of the Board of Governors for Brandon University. In recognition of his community service, he was inducted into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame (1994) and Order of Manitoba (2000), and he received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977) and Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).

He died at the Brandon Hospital on 6 September 2015.

Sources:

Obituary, Brandon Sun, 8 September 2015.

Reg Forbes Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 January 2019

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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