Community activist.
Born at Winnipeg on 10 June 1925, daughter of Mary Louise Ford (1892-1984) and Herman Joseph Pitts (1889-1939), her childhood was spent in St. James. A devout Roman Catholic, she attended St. Mary’s Academy and skipped two grades to graduate at the age of 16. She met her husband Donald Malcolm Paull “Mac” MacPhail (1923-1991) while working at the Staff Records Office of the Canadian National Railway, marrying him on 29 December 1949, and having a son and a daughter. After living in Vancouver, British Columbia for a time, the family returned to Winnipeg where she worked at CP Freight.
She became politically active during the 1957 federal election campaign where she worked for Gordon Churchill, eventually participating in 12 federal, 10 provincial, and numerous byelection campaigns. She worked for Duff Roblin and served on the executive of several Conservative Party riding associations. During the 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership campaign, she was the Manitoba Campaign Manager for Joe Clark. She worked as the Office Manager at the Manitoba party headquarters for many years, was Executive Assistant to Sterling Lyon during his tenure as Premier of Manitoba and later Opposition Leader, and Special Assistant to federal minister Jake Epp.
In recognition of her community service, she received a City of Winnipeg Community Service Award (1973) and a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).
She died at Winnipeg on 6 May 2015.
Marriage registration [Marie-Louise Ford, Herman Joseph Pitts], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Donald Malcolm Paull MacPhail], Winnipeg Free Press, 29 October 1991, page 33.
Obituary [Herman Joseph Pitts], Winnipeg Free Press, 14 May 1994, page 49.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 9 May 2015.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 August 2024
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