Salesman, horticulturist.
Born at Ridgetown, Ontario in 1905, son of Louis James Reycraft and Marion Evelyn Switzer (c1882-1967), he moved to Winnipeg with his family in 1913. He attended Trinity College (Port Hope, Ontario), Kelvin High School, and the University of Manitoba (1924-1926). After spending a year travelling in Europe, he returned to the University of Manitoba and completed a BA degree followed by a year of study of horticulture in the School of Agriculture.
During the 1920s and 1930s, he was a founding member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity at the University of Manitoba, an officer in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, and a charter member of the Winnipeg Winter Club. He worked a salesman at Swifts Canada from 1934 to 1965, retiring as a representative for its agricultural chemicals division.
He was well-known in horticultural circles as the editor of The Prairie Garden magazine (1955-1973), and President of the Winnipeg Horticultural Society (1953-1954). In retirement, he wrote the “Over the Garden Wall” column for the Winnipeg Free Press (1971-1981). He was married twice, first on 1 November 1930 to Marguerite Elenore Dagg (?-?) and second on 4 June 1938 to Agnes Middlemass “Nan” Smart (?-1990) and they had a daughter and a son.
He died at Winnipeg on 11 December 1986.
Marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Marion Evelyn Reycraft], Winnipeg Free Press, 26 October 1967, page 36.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 20 December 1986, page 28.
A Century of Horticulture in Manitoba: 1880-1980 by Peter J. Peters, 1988, pages 234-236.
Obituary [Nancy Reycraft], Winnipeg Free Press, 7 July 1990, page 41.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 18 November 2022
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