Living with parents in 1906,1911,1916 and 1921 censuses.

He is listed as 6’7” (!), fair complexion, blue eyes and Light brown hair on his World War I attestation papers. It also notes that he had birth marks on his back and chest, and he was certified fit in Winnipeg on November 5, 1915. He was a civil engineer at the time. In the war, he served with the Royal Canadian Engineers. Upon his return, he was a municipal engineer at Springfield, Manitoba. In 1928 he transferred to Brandon. He resigned in 1945 to become a civil engineer for the Powell Equipment Company in Winnipeg. He was also a member of the Masonic order.

He suffered a shrapnel wound in World War I that incapacitated one of his arms. He drowned in an accident in 1951 at Clear Lake (north of Minnedosa) in Manitoba, sacrificing himself by jumping out of the boat (knowing he couldn’t swim), to give a better chance of survival for the other four, who were rescued by some young Meti boys. The other four were his wife, daughter-in-law, daughter and son-in-law.The following year in May, 1952, Bruce Flett, the young Meti from the Elphinstone reservation, was commended for his rescue of 4 of the 5 people on the boat. He had managed to stop a car which was carrying a rowboat, borrowed the boat, and rowed out 300 yards to try and rescue the 5 on the wind-tossed lake. His friend James McKay was also involved in the rescue. Mr. Flett received multiple rewards over the next year or two for daring rescue.

The body was not recovered until September 2 (the part of the lake he was in is quite deep).