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Louis David Morosnick
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Lawyer.
Born at Winnipeg on 28 May 1892, son of Fanny Ferrer (c1867-1929) and Kiva David Morosnick (c1864-1929), an immigrant produce merchant who established the Farmers’ Market on Dufferin Avenue. He quit school at the age of 14 to write sports for the Winnipeg Free Press. He developed an interest in law before the age of 18 while working as a police reporter. With help from his idol, A. J. Andrews, he embarked upon a legal education by obtaining an arts degree at the University of Manitoba and graduating from Manitoba Law School in 1915. His studies were interrupted by two years of service in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. He practiced law with A. M. Shinbane until 1941 then with M. D. Spivak. Although working as a defense counselor for most of his career, he once served as acting crown prosecutor, launching a strong campaign against city gamblers. Known as a charismatic man who would confuse jurors with props and other tactics, he was described as “a man who made juries weep, orphans smile, and politicians shudder.”
A member of the executive of the Progressive Conservative Party in Manitoba, he once attempted a run at the nomination for party leader the year Duff Roblin was selected. He was a founder of the Winnipeg branch of the League of Nations Society, served on the original board of directors of the Jewish Orphanage, and acted as President of B’nai B’rith. In addition to being on the executive of both the Canadian Club and the Red Cross Blood Donors Association, he was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, YMHA, and Associated Youth Camps of Manitoba. A keen sportsman, he belonged to the Shamrock Lacrosse Club, which won the Western Canada Championship around 1908. He married Gwen Hyman (1900-1966) of St. Paul and had two daughters.
He died at his Winnipeg home, 130 Elm Street, on 7 November 1956. His obituary described him as having “one of the most colorful careers in the history of Manitoba law.”
1921 Canada census, Ancestry.
Birth registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Superlativist,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 December 1948. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B10, page 80]
“Colorful city lawyer, Louis Morosnick dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 November 1956, page 10.
We thank Debby Remis for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Sarah Ramsden and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 July 2017
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