Memorable Manitobans: Barbara Elaine Mills Weselake (1947-2016)

Media personality.

Born at Brandon on 11 July 1947, daughter of Mable Elizabeth Davies (1919-2001) and Earl Townsend Mills, she managed a fashion department at the Winnipeg Eaton’s store in the mid- to late 1960s, wrote a fashion column for the Winnipeg Tribune, and contributed commentaries for CKRC Radio. She married and moved to Chicago, Illinois where worked as a manager in a department store. She returned to Winnipeg in the 1970s and worked in public relations for the Manitoba Theatre Centre. Moving to CBC, she hosted an afternoon radio show, created the weekly television program “Family Focus” and developed the television documentary “Babies Having Babies” on teenage prostitution for which she received an award from the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). She appeared periodically as a guest on the television program “Front Page Challenge”. From 1976 to 1978, she served as head of the Manitoba Film Classification Board that evaluated films for their suitability for the intended audiences. In later years, she gave presentations and did executive coaching. In 1970, she married Jerald “Jerry” Weselake and they had a son and a daughter. She died at Calgary, Alberta on 29 July 2016.

Sources:

“Mills-Weselake appointed to film classification board,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 June 1976, page 2.

“Film board replaced,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 September 1978, page 2.

Obituary [Mable Elizabeth Mills], Brandon Sun, 15 June 2001, page 16.

Obituary [Earl Townsend Mills], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 February 2003.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 20 August 2016.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 6 July 2021

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.

Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:

Custom Search

Browse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Browse deaths occurring in:
1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024


Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca

Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements

Help us keep
history alive!