MILES H. PEPPER

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MILES H. PEPPER, Q.C. 1930 - 2007 After a long and valiant battle with cancer, Miles H. Pepper died in Winnipeg on Wednesday, September 12, 2007. He was the only son of Alexander Miles Pepper and Harriet Martha Rattenbury who predeceased him. He is survived by his beloved wife Ann and by his children and stepchildren: Shelagh Pepper of Kitchener, ON; Maureen Pepper and her children, Aryn and Sam of Ottawa, ON; Michael Ratz, wife Catherine and children, Caitlin, Meagan and Allison of North Vancouver, BC; Christopher Ratz and his daughters, McKenzee and Emma of Ottawa; and Leslie Larkin, her husband Shawn and their two sons, Trevor and Kyle, also of Ottawa. He will be missed by his sister Marion Murray-Axelson, her husband Charles of Pasadena, CA and her children, David Murray, wife Lorraine and daughter Stephanie of Middletown Springs, Vermont; Yvonne Banks, husband Kent and children, Kasey and Kayla, of Colorado Springs, CO, and Russell Murray of Pasadena, CA; and by his sister Dorothy McFee and her husband John of Winnipeg, MB and their children: Louanne Adams, husband Derek and daughter Laurisa of Winnipeg; Daphne McFee, husband Paul Woods and children, Mélanie, Matthew, Kristien and Emilie of Ottawa; Christopher McFee, wife Susan and their son Evan of Langley, BC and Tom McFee and his wife Kristy of Winnipeg. He is also survived by his stepmother Muriel Pepper. Miles was educated at lsaac Brock School and Daniel Mclntyre Collegiate where he was President of the student body in 1948-49. After graduation he entered the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1952. He worked for a year with the Bank of Nova Scotia and then entered the Faculty of Law. While there he was Prime Minister of the Mock Parliament in 1955, Treasurer of UMSU in 1954-55, and President of UMSU in 1955-56. He joined Canadian lndustries Limited after graduating from Law in 1957. He returned to Winnipeg in 1959, was called to the Bar and practiced law until late 1960. He was seconded to lmperial Chemical lndustries, London, England in 1965-66 and then rejoined C-l-L in 1966 as Assistant Secretary. ln 1970 Miles joined the Federal Department of Justice as Legislative Counsel. ln 1976 he was named Queen's Counsel by the Governor General and in 1980 became the Director of Legal Services to the Privy Counsel Office. ln early 1986 Miles was named Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Chief Legislative Counsel for the Province of Manitoba with prime responsibility for completion of the English and French versions of the revised Statutes of Manitoba. When the Statutes were either enacted or ready for re-enactment he returned to Ottawa at the end of 1987 as Secretary of the Statute Revision Commission where he worked on the Revised Statutes of Canada. ln 1990 Miles transferred to Yellowknife, NWT to be Chief Legislative Counsel to the Northwest Territories with responsibility for the re-enactment of the NWT Statutes in French as well as the usual duties of Legislative Counsel. After the enactment was complete he stayed on and became Assistant Deputy Minister after which he retired to Winnipeg in 1995. There were two things that Miles especially enjoyed in life. One was curling. He started at the Thistle Curling Club in November 1946 as a member of Daniel Mclntyre's curling club. He made many friends over the years while curling, none more steadfast than the members of the Wildwood Seniors Curling Club. The other was his participation in the parachuting club in Yellowknife. He took only six jumps but they were exhilarating experiences - a thing of the moment but long in the memory. His year-long journey at Jocelyn House was made easier by the love and support of his many good friends, especially Grant Sims and his family. Miles considered them his second family. The family extends a heartfelt thank you to the doctors and nurses of GR3 at the Health Sciences Centre and to the staff and volunteers at Jocelyn House for their constant care and kindness. A gentle man. Cremation has occurred. lnterment and a celebration of Miles' life will take place at Chapel Lawn, 4000 Portage Ave., on Tuesday, September 18 at 3:00 p.m. ln lieu of flowers a donation may be made in Miles' name to a charity of choice or to Jocelyn House, 177 Egerton Street, Winnipeg. Arrangements entrusted to: Chapel Lawn Funeral Home 885-9715

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 15, 2007