Obituary of Douglas Thorburn

Dougal was born on November 2, 1915 to Walter and Nora Thorburn, attended the Parkview school, and grew up helping on the family farm. As was customary in those days, there was some hunting in the fall and trapping in the winter. As a young man, Dougal worked on threshing crews in Ontario, and as a hired man on a dairy farm in Brantford. He would then come home for threshing on the home farm. In the '40's, he did winter work at Sled Lake, Snow Lake, and Uranium City. In 1954 Dougal joined the Army and had basic training in Winnipeg. He became a member of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and was based at an Experimental Station in Suffield Alberta to test new weapons and ammunition. Dougal returned home in 1957. He went to British Columbia to work as a project laborer for B.C. Hydro, and the Quesnel Airport. If you happen to fly into Quesnel, Dougal helped build the cement runway. He was also involved in various other construction projects in British Columbia, until retiring back to Shellbrook in 1978. Here, he settled into a more relaxed life of horseshoes, feeding chick-a-dee's, gardening and looking after a cat named John Henry who surprised Dougal with a litter of kittens. We will remember Dougal for his sense of humour, his Scottish pride and his interesting history. He has had a good life. The Funeral Service for the late Douglas Thorburn was held in St. Andrews Anglican Church in Shellbrook, SK. on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Peter Boote as officiant. In lieu of other tributes memorial donations may be made to the Shellbrook and Districts Health Services Project or St. Andrews Anglican Church Shellbrook, SK.