DONALD GEORGE MCDOUGALD

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

DONALD GEORGE MCDOUGALD
October 12, 1936 – June 3, 2022

After a long and full life, Don McDougald passed away at Seven Oaks General Hospital in Winnipeg on Friday, June 3, 2022 after a brief illness.
He will be dearly missed by the many people whose lives he touched with his sunny presence. This including son Kevin McDougald of Winnipeg; sister Rita Smiley of Red Deer; five nieces and nephews each from the Cross family (Carol, Doug, Marilyn, Glen and Neil) and the Smiley family (Patrick, Jenny, Bernie, Karen and John) and their families, whom he always took a keen interest in, plus an extended network of family and long-time friends across Canada and the United States. He is also survived by former wife June McDougald, whom he continued to hold in high regard. He joins partner Agnes Howard; sister Catherine Cross; parents, Angus and Marguerite McDougald and several extended family and close friends in eternal peace.
Don's life began in the village of Lebret, in Saskatchewan's Qu'Appelle Valley, where he was born on Thanksgiving Day 1936. Without the shows and sporting events of the big city, he had to rely on the great outdoors for entertainment, giving him a natural sense of adventure that led him into the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Life in the RCAF gave him the opportunity to see the world in a way many small-town prairie boys of that era could only dream of. His military adventure took him to Resolute Bay in the High Arctic, then to Winnipeg where he met and married his wife June in 1958. Two years later, a transfer to RCAF Station Marville in France gave them a four-year taste of life in Europe. Their subsequent holidays, with memorable trips to London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon, awakened a love of travel in Don he held for life.
Returning to Winnipeg in the mid-60s, where he and June took up residence in the north end and later Elmwood, Don began a long career with the City of Winnipeg as a regional streets inspector. Then, in the 70s, he finally became a father to his son Kevin, a role he plunged into enthusiastically as a "hands-on dad."
With too much need for an intellectual challenge to ever be content with a life of golf and watching The Price is Right, Don entered the 21st century with little interest in retirement. He kept on working for the City of Winnipeg until 2017, when he finally retired after nearly 50 years at the age of 80 – an event so unique, the Winnipeg Free Press ran a feature article.
Yet the first decade of the new century also brought Don a second chance at love, when he reunited with childhood friend Agnes (Godich) Howard at a reunion in the Qu'Appelle Valley. Soon thereafter, she joined him in Winnipeg where they lived in a condominium near Polo Park until her passing in 2013.
Don remained mentally active in his later years. He loved a good conversation about history, current affairs or sports, especially his beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was a keen genealogist, and was only prevented by his passing from buying and learning to use an iPad. Proudly independent, he lived life the way he wanted to live it until the end.
The family wish to thank Don's wonderful friends, Lesley Fuga and Lyle Allan and his neighbours at Donwood West, for going above and beyond in assisting him in his later years. We are also grateful to the professionals at the Grace and Seven Oaks general hospitals for their care and compassion during his final days.
Don's memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 16 at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel of Voyage Funeral Home, 472 Kirkfield Street, Winnipeg, with reception to follow. All who wish to pay their respects are invited.
Christ the King Chapel at St. Paul's College on the University of Manitoba campus will also offer Mass intentions in his memory, Wednesday, June 22 at 11:45 a.m.
Donations to any humanitarian cause in Don's memory are certainly encouraged. However, as a believer in "random acts of kindness," doing a small act of kindness for someone every day would also be a wonderful way to honour his life.

www.voyagefuneralhomes.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 11, 2022