Playwright.
Born at Beausejour on 16 July 1941, one of three sons of Lena Garbolinski (1914-1980) and John Galay (1905-1993), he received the Governor General’s Award on graduation from high school in 1959 then he taught at Brandon University before moving to British Columbia in 1970. He received a doctorate in Mathematics from the University of British Columbia (1974) then taught at Vancouver Community College and Langara College until retirement. He was a successful playwright, many of his plays dealing with the experience of Ukrainian settlers and their descendants, including After Baba’s Funeral (1979), Sweet and Sour Pickles (1980), The Grabowski Girls (1983), Primrose School District 109 (1985), and the critically-acclaimed Tsymbaly (1985). He died unmarried at Vancouver, British Columbia on 28 February 2018.
“Top grade 12 students win govt. scholarships,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 October 1959, page 16.
“Albee play set for fall,” Brandon Sun, 21 September 1968, page 3.
Obituary [Lena Galay], Winnipeg Free Press, 2 July 1980, page 78.
“Writer sees himself in every character,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 December 1985, page 9.
Obituary [John Galay], Winnipeg Free Press, 8 March 1993, page 26.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 24 March 2018.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 7 April 2018
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