Memorable Manitobans: Oswald Morton McKay (1891-1990)

Oswald Morton McKay Click to enlarge

Farmer, municipal official.

Born on a farm near Alexander on 26 February 1891, son of Morton Oswald McKay (1861-1948) and Elizabeth Dunn (1867-1944), he was educated at Alexander School and received a diploma from the Manitoba Agricultural College in Winnipeg. In 1918, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War but did not go overseas. He worked a farm across the road from the homestead that his father established in 1881, working it until the late 1940s when he moved to Alexander and hired a man to tend the farm on his behalf.

On 26 October 1921, he married Mary Luella Morden (1890-1972) in the RM of Woodworth. They had no children. He served on the Whitehead municipal council (1920-1935) and was Reeve from 1935 to 1967, having a reputation of never having missed a meeting in over 32 years. He also served on the Board of Brandon College, was President of the Lansdowne Liberal Association and Vice-President of the Brandon Liberal Association. He was Chairman of the Alexander School Board and served as President of the Manitoba School Trustees Association (1958-1960). He was a member of the Executive of the Union of Manitoba Municipalities (1944-1949) when he was elected its Vice-President, then served as President (1952-1953).

He was an elder of Alexander United Church and a member of the Masons (Composite Lodge No. 64). In recognition of his community service, he was given a Manitoba Golden Boy Award (1966) and a Canadian Centennial Medal (1967).

He died at Brandon on 18 January 1990 and was buried in the Alexander Cemetery.

Sources:

Birth registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Marriage registration [Oswald Morton McKay, Mary Luella Morden], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Western Municipal News, February 1952, page 53.

“10 honored with Golden Boy awards,” Winnipeg Tribune, 7 November 1966.

“Whitehead Reeve quits after 48 years service,” Brandon Sun, 10 October 1967, page 22.

Obituary [Mary Luella McKay], Winnipeg Free Press, 4 January 1973, page 28.

Obituary, Brandon Sun, 19 January 1990, page 18.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 8 March 2023

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