DAVID JACK

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DAVID JACK December 28, 2000 Mr. David Dunn (Davie) Jack passed away Thursday, December 28, 2000 just a week and a half after celebrating his 95th birthday. He was born in 1905 in Corkers Hill, Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated to Canada with his family just prior to the First World War. They settled in Weston, an area of Winnipeg, where his father went to work in the C.P.R. yards. After completing grade eight at Cecil Rhodes Elementary School, Davie went to work in order to help support his family. After numerous jobs, he settled in as a journeyman machinist with the C.P.R. Toward the end of the "dirty thirties", Davie led a group of unemployed journeymen machinists to Thunder Bay where they were employed en masse by the then rapidly expanding Northern Engineering. Although the move was to be temporary, none of the group ever returned to live in Winnipeg. During the Second World War, Davie was the foreman of the "Shell Plant" on Island #2. Later, he became manager of the Northerns machine shop, then general manger of the entire operation. One of his proudest achievements during his tenure with management was the fact that none of the many unions within the company was ever forced to strike. He never forgot that he had come from a working-class background, and acted accordingly. Married to Eileen Ferguson, the daughter of Irish immigrants, in 1929, he was predeceased by her in 1978, an event from which he never fully recovered. Davie was also predeceased by brothers, Hughie, Neil, and Alec, as well as sisters, Jean and Kay. He is survived by younger brother Bill of Winnipeg and elder sister Ina, of Tampa, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, mainly from Winnipeg. He is immediately survived by his son Alan and daughter-in-law Rosemary, with whom he resided for the last ten years, as well as grandsons, Brennan (Francine) and Morgan and granddaughter Lisa (Brooke) and great-grandson Kieran. Davie lived and died a highly-principled man with strong beliefs, and in line with his wishes, no funeral or memorial service will be held.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 13, 2001