Railwayman, community activist.
Born at Montreal, Quebec on 18 March 1932 to Walter Gunhouse and Violet Amelia Wely, he was educated in the Montreal area and was very active athletically as a youth, in particular skiing with friends in the Laurentian Mountains. He joined Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) in December 1950, and then continued after the formation of VIA Rail in 1978. In his 28 years with CN Rail, he worked in various capacities in Passenger Sales, Research, and Customer and Catering Services. In 1972, he was transferred to the Mountain Region in Edmonton, where he served in Senior Management positions, ending as Regional Manager, Passenger Sales and Services. When VIA Rail was formed in 1978, he accepted the offer to become VIA West’s Regional Manager of Operations, and moved with his family to Winnipeg. He retired from VIA in March 1987.
For 14 years, he was President of the VIA Rail Manitoba and Saskatchewan Pensioners’ Association. He served a stint as National Vice President for the VIA Rail Pensioners, and served on the VIA Rail Pension Board until his death. In retirement at Winnipeg, he also became active in seniors’ advocacy, chairing the Network of Retirees Associations in Manitoba, being involved in a number of activities with the Manitoba Society of Seniors, and writing articles for their Journal. He took the Watch Program of the National Sheriffs’ Association, in Washington, DC, and adapted it into a program that eventually became known as ERIK (Emergency Response Information Kit). ERIK was then implemented and adopted by most senior organizations.
In 1956, he married Marguerite Eleanor Almond (1933-2007) with whom he had four sons. Hockey was a big part of his life, and he coached, watched games, and in their youth transported his four boys to innumerable practices and games.
He died at Winnipeg on 2 June 2009 and was buried in the Glen Lawn Memorial Gardens.
Obituary [Marguerite Eleanor Gunhouse], Winnipeg Free Press, 7 March 2007.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 6 June 2009.
“Walter Bryant Gunhouse,” Almond Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 4 February 2025
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