Person:Maurice Western (1)

In a 14 January, 2002, letter Barb Smith writes: "My father, Maurice, studied history at the Universities of Saskatoon and Toronto. To finance his studies, being the son of a poor clergyman, he used to teach school alternate years in an 8-grade, one room school house, first in Atley and then at Redcliffe near Medicine Hat, Alberta. He married in 1939 and shortly thereafter joined the Regina Rifles and headed overseas. He was discharged in 1943 to take a position as a war correspondent for F. P. Publications, which at the time owned the Regina Leader Post (where he worked before the war). At the end of the war my mother and oldest sister joined him in London for a year while he traveled throughout Europe covering the peace process. When he returned to Canada he and my mother moved to Winnipeg where he joined the Winnipeg Free Press (a paper owned by the same newspaper chain). He worked for that paper for the rest of his career. He spent one year for them in Washington, DC in the Press Gallery and it was in Bethesda, Maryland, that my youngest sister, was born. He was transferred to Ottawa to the National Press gallery in 1959 and retired from that job in 1979. He and my mother retired to Victoria, BC in 1980."

From the Ottawa Citizen Newspaper for Sept 12, 2002 "Death Notices (09/12/02): WESTERN, Maurice Alban Walter Western passed away quietly on September 7, 2002, in Capilano Care Centre, West Vancouver, BC. Born in Pelly, Saskatchewan on December 14, 1912, Maurice was raised on the Prairies and met and married his wife Doris Evelyn (Dot) Douglas in Moose Jaw. He took his Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of Saskatchewan and his Master's at the University of Toronto. Maurice joined the Regina Rifles during World War II, but was discharged after 2 years to work as a war correspondent overseas for the Regina Leader Post. Following the war he moved to Winnipeg to write for the Winnipeg Free Press and stayed with that newspaper until his retirement in 1979. He had a very fulfilling and challenging career in the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa from 1959 to 1979 and was also an occasional contributor to the Manchester Guardian and the Canadian Churchman newspapers. "Our quiet absent-minded professor" is lovingly remembered by his four children, Wendy Bowness of Tweed, Ontario, Peter Western (Heather) of Ottawa, Barbara Smith (Fred) of North Vancouver, Joan Western (Steve Branston) of Kelowna, BC; 13 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; his sister Phyllis Simpson of West Vancouver; his beloved cousins in Victoria, Gay Brownlee and Kay Brown; and his sister-in-law Shirley Ross (Harvey) of Regina. Maurice was predeceased by his wife Dot in 1982. A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 13th at 1 p.m. at St. Stephen's Anglican Church off Mt. Newton X Road in Saanichton. The family warmly appreciates donations in lieu of flowers to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC. SANDS OF VICTORIA 250-388-5155 The Ottawa Citizen, Area Code 613 "

1. ↑ Ottawa Citizen Newspaper for Sept 12, 2002; Obituary notice for Maurice Western.
2. ↑ Ottawa Citizen Newspaper for Sept 12, 2002; Obituary notice for Maurice Western.