GARFIELD (GARRY) VERNON BRICKMAN, Q.C.

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GARFIELD (GARRY) VERNON BRICKMAN, Q.C.

Garry passed away on March 8, 2026, at the age of 88 years in Winnipeg.

Garry was born in Dauphin on March 18, 1937, to Stanley and Evelyn Brickman. He was predeceased by his wife and life partner, Marla Jean (née Thompson), his parents, and an infant brother.

He is survived by his sons, Douglas (Bunny) of Winnipeg, MB, and Brent (Laura) of Brookfield, WI, and by his brother, Keith (the late Barbara) of Cary, NC. Garry is also survived by his grandchildren, Evan and Audrey (children of his son Brent), his step-grandchildren, Darrin and Kristian, and many nieces and nephews.

After high school, Garry attended the Provincial Normal School and taught in East Kildonan. He developed an early interest in politics and was active as a volunteer at both the provincial and federal levels. He worked as an executive assistant in the Department of the Attorney General and then attended law school. After graduating, Garry spent almost two years as a Crown attorney and went on to enjoy a four-decade career in private practice with the Thompson Dorfman Sweatman law firm, aside from a period serving as Special Counsel to then Premier Hon. Sterling Lyon. He was honoured in 1978 with appointment as Queen's Counsel.

Beyond his work, Garry found great joy at the family cottage on Pistol Lake near Minaki, Ontario, where he spent summers fishing, skiing, building, and creating memories that his children cherish to this day. He held a lifelong interest in history, and beginning in the 1960s, he devoted time to researching his own family's story, later joined enthusiastically by his brother Keith. Together they travelled to churches and cemeteries, scoured records, and conducted interviews that now form a lasting family chronicle.

Garry was active in the community and served on the boards of several charitable and tourism organizations, among them Festival du Voyageur, the MS Society of Canada, the Red River Exhibition Association, the Manitoba Historical Society, and the Manitoba Life Lease Occupants Association.

In keeping with his lifelong commitment to community involvement, the family invites friends and relatives to support a cause that matters to them in their own community.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 14, 2026