David Dornian

Dave was born on a homestead in Jamieson District (Regina), Saskatchewan, the 11th of 12 living children of Martin and Gloria Dornian.   They moved to Antler and Kisby, before his parents settled in Souris, Manitoba.

He left school after grade 9 to work in the mine at Atikokan, ON but was told to go home.  A year on the farm, then to the oilfields in the Alberta Peace River area.  He joined the RCMP in 1952 and was posted to Hamilton and Ottawa before coming to the Yukon: Mayo, Teslin, and Whitehorse where he earned his pilot’s license.

Dave married Angela Cox (Adele and Bernie Molloy of Molloy’s Frozen Foods) in 1957.  They lived in Carmacks and Carcross, and then transferred to Regina and Regina Beach, SK, Winnipeg, Selkirk, Crystal City, Shoal Lake, and Lynn Lake, Manitoba.  Dave was part of the gold medal shooting team for Manitoba at the 1967 Canada Winter Games in Quebec City.

After Watson Lake, YT and Ft Smith, NWT, David retired from the force in 1974, and the family returned to Whitehorse.  He worked as business agent for the Plumbers’ and Carpenters’ Union and was a Director with Consumer and Corporate Affairs for several years with a stint as Acting Chief Coroner.  Finally working as an employment investigator in Victoria.

Upon retirement Dave moved to Kamloops, Okanagan Falls, Kelowna, as well as Souris for two years.

In Whitehorse, he was active with the Army Cadets and the Canadian Legion, and travelling the rivers in his freighter canoe.  During retirement he loved to golf, enjoyed easy gardening, long road trips, listening to music, and volunteered with Red Cross medical rentals in Kelowna.

Predeceased by his parents, his daughter Laura Anne in 1995.  Survived by ex-wife Angela, daughter Donna, sons Mike (Shelley), Mark (Christie), nine grandchildren, ten great grandchildren; sister Rose Swaenpoel, brother George (Jean), and sister-in-law Elsie, all of Souris, as well as many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held next summer in Whitehorse, Yukon.

Any donations in remembrance please make to the Canadian Red Cross.