Memorable Manitobans: William Melville “Mel” Kilfoyle (1915-2002)

Artist.

Born at St. Boniface on 7 August 1915, son of Henry Melville Kilfoyle and Eunice Kilfoyle, he “rode the rails” to Vancouver, worked in the work camps of northwest Ontario, and sold day-old doughnuts on the street during the Great Depression. During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, became a leading aircraftman and was discharged in 1945. He worked in Flin Flon, Winnipeg, and Oakbank in the heating and air conditioning field and retired in 1985. Early in his life, he developed an interest in drawing and produced many excellent and varied pieces of art that his belief that different points of view and cultures should be accepted. He requested that a one-man art show be held on the day of his funeral. He died at Winnipeg on 20 September 2002.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 September 2002.

“They will never be forgotten” by Kevin Rollason, Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 2002, page A8.

This page was prepared by Ian Stewart.

Page revised: 10 December 2016

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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