JOHN DOUGLAS REID

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JOHN DOUGLAS REID

October 5, 1933 - December 1, 2023

Born October 5, 1933 in Craik, Saskatchewan John Douglas Reid, better known as Doug, Douglas, or socially as Antique Doug has lived his life very much his way until the evening of December 1, 2023 when he passed away peacefully.



Leaving home in his teens, Doug travelled the prairies. Working a variety of jobs on farms, atop grain elevators, building Schools in Saudi Arabia, to being the trusted neighbourhood handyman in Calgary. In his free time, he square danced across Alberta, which is how he met Olive. The dance partners carried the Canadian flag at the opening ceremonies of the 1989 World Square Dancing Jamboree in Holland.



All of this was before settling in Rapid City, Manitoba with his wife Olive Walker on an acreage along the little Saskatchewan river in 1996. The choice to move from their life in Calgary to a small town two provinces over was because it was a better deal. Those who knew Doug, knew that he spent his days and weekends travelling in his grey Dodge van across the province to the different auction sales. There he would find the overlooked treasures, bringing life back to them through his endless knowledge of carpentry tricks, before selling them out of the old schoolhouse that acted as the Ploughshare Antique shop. However, Doug would always, and proudly, introduce Olive as his "most prized antique that he found at a garage sale."



As a member of the Wildlife Association in the Rapid city Chapter, one of Doug's main projects was keeping track of the traffic through the local fish ladder. The group used this information when constructing future wildlife infrastructure. the other contribution was the use of the acreage to house a flock of wild turkeys to replenish the local population. Though, calling them wild is a bit of a stretch as Doug made sure to chase them into the trees every evening to protect them from the other local wildlife.



Doug cared for all of his animals. The dogs always had good meals and van rides in exchange for their security and loyalty, while the house cats had a warm bed to sleep in. The chickens always had a sheltered coop to keep them safe and warm. Doug would go out, even in the coldest of winters to the wood shop to start the wood stove and turn on the heat lamp for the shop cats.



In addition to the animals, Doug has made many friends that kept him busy. They would call him asking for advice on how to fix this, or how to build that. Doug would know exactly what to do and was ready to share his knowledge that he's learned through the years. Some of his recent projects included guiding the new owners of the Queen's Hotel during their renovations to revive the local bar.



Doug is survived by his wife, Olive Walker. Sons Gordon and Scott Reid. Then numerous grand and great-grandchildren located across Canada.



In lieu of a funeral, and at Doug's request, there will be a Celebration of Life in the spring. The details of the celebration will be published at a later date. Family and friends are all invited to come share their stories.

As published in Brandon Sun on Dec 09, 2023, Dec 09, 2023