Oswald Morton McKay
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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.
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: 28 May 2024
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