Businessman.
Born on 20 May 1931, one of four children of Samuel Roy Jocelyn (1905-1980) and Margaret Eliza “Peggy” Michels (1909-2000), his first job was as a bus boy at age 16 at one of the restaurants in the Hudson's Bay Store in Winnipeg. By 1955, he had become the manager of the Bay's seven restaurants, and orchestrated the opening of its Paddle Wheel Restaurant. He later accepted a position as the General Manager of the restaurant in the Childs Building.
In 1958, he moved to Montreal, Quebec where he became the General Manager for Canadian Food Products and Honey Dew Restaurants for Quebec and Ottawa. He returned to Winnipeg in 1961, taking the position of Food Supervisor for Gordon Hotels, and then became the General Manager of their 26 hotels. He eventually purchased five of the hotels and changed the name of his company to Gordon Hotels and Motor Inns Limited.
He held a number of positions in the hospitality industry, including President of the Manitoba Branch of the Canadian Restaurant Association, President of the Hotel Association of Canada, Canadian Director of the Executive Board of the American Hotel and Motel Association, and Director of the Hotel Association of Western Canada. He was a member of the Manitoba Hotel Association, in which he was a Director on the Executive Committee for 41 years. He was a life member of the Hotel Association of Canada as well as the Manitoba Hotel Association, and the longest serving member of the Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Convention Centre.
On 28 May 1955, he married Margaret “Margee” Paterson at the St. John's Anglican Cathedral and they went on to have four children. He enjoyed time at the lake with his family, and at the hockey rink. He was a hockey player, coach, and devoted fan. When the Jets left Winnipeg, he adopted the Pittsburgh Penguins, then had to split his loyalties when the Jets returned to the city.
He died at Winnipeg on 27 June 2012.
Marriage registration [Roy Jocelyn, Margaret Eliza Michels], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
[Marriage announcement], Winnipeg Tribune, 25 May 1955, page 12.
“Reception is honor for two visitors,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 June 1955, page 16.
Obituary [Samuel Roy Jocelyn], Winnipeg Free Press, 24 December 1980, page 25.
“Jocelyn - Homik,” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 April 1982, page 55.
Obituary [Margaret Jocelyn], Winnipeg Free Press, 28 February 2000.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 30 June 2012.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 May 2026
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