Memorable Manitobans: William Gordon David Ritchie (1918-1998)

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William Gordon David Ritchie
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Physician, MP (1968-1972), MP (1973-1974), MP (1974-1979), MP (1979).

Born at Dauphin on 27 September 1918, son of John Ritchie (1883-1949) and Jane Helena Dinniwell (1890-1974), he was educated at Mountview School and the University of Manitoba, graduating with a medical degree from the latter in 1945. He joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps but the Second World War ended before he could be posted overseas. Following his military discharge, he returned to Dauphin where he had a general medical practice. In 1957, he studied opthamology in England, afterwards practicing it along with general medicine.

Defeated in the 1957 federal general election, he became a Member of Parliament for the Dauphin constituency in 1968 and was re-elected in 1972, 1974, and 1979. He was also a director for the Dauphin General Hospital, trustee for the Dauphin Ochre School Division, member of the Dauphin Chamber of Commerce, and director of the Manitoba Medical Association (12 years). He retired from public and professional life in 1996.

On 22 May 1951, he married Margaret Norell (?-2017, sister of Kenneth Conrad Norell) and they had one daughter. In 1977, in recognition of his community service, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.

He died at Dauphin on 20 November 1998 and was buried in the Dauphin Cemetery. A collection of his papers is held at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

Sources:

1921 Canada census, Ancestry.

Obituary, Dauphin Herald, 1 December 1998, page 24.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank Brette Ritchie for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 April 2023

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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