Memorable Manitobans: Charles Richard Huband (1932-2023)

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Charles Richard Huband
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Lawyer, politician, judge.

Born in Ontario on 23 February 1932, son of Rev. Allen Richard Huband (1903-1993) and Mildred Frances Morden (1904-2007), brother of A. Rolph Huband, his family moved to Winnipeg in 1948 where he completed high school. He attended the University of Manitoba where he served on the editorial board for the student newspaper, The Manitoban (1954-1955). He practiced law for many years, initially with Scott Wright, William “Bill” Norrie, and Reeh Taylor, and later as a member of the firm Richardson and Company (later Taylor McCaffrey).

Active in the Manitoba Liberal Party, and its leader from 1975 to 1978, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1973 general election, 1975 by-election, and 1977 general election. He later served as a Puisne Judge on the Manitoba Court of Appeal (1979-2007) after which he reopened a private law practice until his 90th birthday. He was a Liberal candidate again in the 2019 general election.

On 26 June 1954, he married schoolteacher Marilyn MacFarlane at Westminster United Church and they had a son and two daughters. He incorporated the Manitoba Theatre Workshop (later renamed Prairie Theatre Exchange) and was its first board chair, later establishing the PTE Foundation. He was also involved with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Westminster Housing Society, and Manitoba Historical Society. He was a member of Westminster United Church and the St. Charles Country Club.

In recognition of his community service, he received a Prix Manitoba Award (1998) and a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), and he was inducted posthumously into the Order of Manitoba (2023).

He died at the Victoria Hospital on 14 June 2023.

Sources:

“Bridegraoom's father hears Huband-Macfarlane vows,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 June 1954, page 15.

Obituary [Allen Richard Huband], Winnipeg Free Press, 26 November 1993, page 49.

Obituary [Mildred Frances Huband], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 June 2007.

Obituary [Marilyn Huband], Winnipeg Free Press, 7 December 2013.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 17 June 2023.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 9 October 2023