Memorable Manitobans: Willo Sterritt Forrester (1901-1992)

Farmer, municipal official.

Born on a farm near Emerson on 14 June 1901, son of William Gregg Forrester (1857-1922) and Jennie Sterritt (1862-1955), he took over the family farm on the death of his father, operating it until the last few years of his life. He was among the first producers of special crops such as sunflowers, sugar beets and triticale in southern Manitoba. He was also one of the first farmers in Manitoba to recognize the potential of the Holstein breed of dairy cow, beginning his herd in 1938 and providing breeding stock for others.

He served on the boards of Co-op Vegetable Oils in Altona, Manitoba Sugar Beet Producers’ Association, Post Road School (20 years), Boundary School Division (1966-1973), Emerson Hospital, Altona Hospital, Education Advisory Board of Manitoba, Manitoba Association of School Trustees, Manitoba Federation of Agriculture, and the Board of Governors of the University of Manitoba. He was founding Chairman of the Manitoba Farm Bureau, and a Director of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. He was a member of the council for the Rural Municipality of Montcalm for 37 years and, in 1969, was a Liberal candidate for Rhineland in the provincial general election. In recognition of his exemplary community service, he was given a Manitoba Good Citizenship Award (1977) and elected to the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame (1987).

On 18 December 1924, he married Marjorie Lovering, with whom he had five children: William Forrester, James Forrester, Jean Forrester, Leslie Willo Forrester, and Ruth Mary Forrester.

He died at Emerson on 26 November 1992 and was buried in the Emerson Cemetery.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 28 November 1992, page 73.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 12 October 2022

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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