Funeral Service Information:

A celebration of Mal's life was held Wednesday July 12th at 2:00pm.

Kildonan Community Church
2373 Main Street
Winnipeg, MB
https://sites.google.com/kildonancommunitychurch.com/home/contact-us

Peacefully, surrounded with love and with his family at his side, Mal passed away at his home on Thursday, June 15, 2017.  He will be sadly missed by his loving wife of 47 years Pat, son Darryl (Julie) and their children Nolan and Nathan, daughter Dayna (Rob) and their children Kevin and Isabelle, brother Ian (Deb), brother-in-law Glenn (Pat), his cousins and many nieces and nephews, including Craig (Jin) and Aaron (Susan), Heather (Chris) and Craig (Karleen), Shelly and Erik (Marie) and many friends. Mal was predeceased by parents Dorothy and William Anderson, sister Erica, brother-in-law Alan and parents-in-law Wayne and Edith Manson.

Mal was born in Sheffield, England on December 20, 1945.  He came to Winnipeg in 1946, where he was raised and educated.  He grew up on Montrose in River Heights with his mom, dad, older sister Erica, younger brother Ian and numerous boarders.  He attended Kelvin High and played the drums in local bands.  He loved playing pranks on his siblings and remained especially close with Ian through the years.

Mal met his true love Pat in 1966, and they married in 1969.  Their children, Darryl and Dayna, were born in 1972 and 1975.  He loved his wife and children deeply and was a wonderful husband and father.

Mal was an important and well known member of the community, having received his Chartered Accountant designation in 1972 and then serving in many different positions throughout his career, including Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance (1976-80), Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines (1981-82) and Deputy Minister of Crown Investments (1982-83) for the Province of Manitoba, Commissioner of Finance for the City of Winnipeg (1983-86), C.E.O. of Credit Union Central of Manitoba (1986-98), Executive Vice President of SLM Software and President and C.E.O. of Infocorp Computer Solutions (1998-2000), Vice President (Operations) of Assante Canada (2000-01), President and C.E.O. of Rice Financial and Senior Vice President of Jovian Capital Corp. (2002-07), Chair of the Board of Directors and TRAF's Investment Committee (2007-2009), Executive Director of the Exchange District Biz (2009-10) and Executive Director of the University Medical Group (2010-2017).  Mal was a great supporter of sports and the arts in Winnipeg.  In the mid-1990s, Mal was chairman of Winnipeg 2000 and also chaired the Spirit of Manitoba (a grassroots effort to save the Winnipeg Jets). 

Family was very important to Mal.  As they grew up, Mal enjoyed many family vacations with his wife and children, to places such as Disneyland, Disney World, Bemidji, Thief River Falls and Lac du Bonnet.   

Mal loved being a Scout leader and going to Darryl’s hockey practices and games.  He encouraged Darryl’s musical talent, attending Darryl’s performances with the Winnipeg Youth Orchestra and Winnipeg Wind Ensemble.  As Darryl got older, they enjoyed going to Winnipeg Blue Bomber, Winnipeg Jets, and Chicago Blackhawks games together. Mal was proud of Darryl’s many accomplishments, including his B.Sc. (University of Manitoba), M.A.Sc. (University of Waterloo) and his career as a software architect. 

Mal also attended Dayna’s many band and choir concerts and took her to hundreds of organ, flute, voice and saxophone lessons over the years.  Mal also attended many Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir performances, in which Dayna was a member for 14 years. In the early 2000s, when they both worked at 360 Main, they were frequent coffee and lunch partners.  Mal was proud of Dayna’s accomplishments, including her B.A. and LL.B. (University of Manitoba) and her career as a lawyer.

Mal’s grandchildren were the light of his life.  He had a particularly special relationship with his first grandchild, Kevin.  Every Sunday morning when Kevin was young, you could find Kevin sitting in his Grandpa’s lap, watching Little Bear. Mal enjoyed many trips with Kevin over the years, to Chicago, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Disney World, Minneapolis, Grand Forks and Fargo.  Mal took Kevin under his wing, encouraging him to work hard and guiding him towards further education and a trade after high school.  Mal was extremely proud of the man that Kevin has become, and was delighted by his ongoing education and career success.  Mal loved Kevin dearly.   

Mal also had a special relationship with Isabelle, who taught him to play Pokemon Go last summer. Mal and Isabelle spent many hours catching Pokemon together in Assiniboine Park. Mal eventually caught up to Isabelle’s level in the game, but to his dismay he could never quite catch up to his son-in-law Rob. Mal and Isabelle also enjoyed sending silly texts to each other. Mal was proud of Isabelle’s academic achievements and musical ability, and loved her very much. 

Mal loved to visit Darryl, Julie, Nolan and Nathan at their home near Chicago.  He spent hours with Nolan and Nathan, building Legos, reading, playing and just being a wonderful Grandpa.  He loved taking them to their favorite restaurants, having sleep overs at the hotel and taking them to the zoo and park.  This past winter, he enjoyed riding on the Polar Express and attending a Jets vs Blackhawks game in Chicago with Darryl’s whole family.  He loved Nolan and Nathan so much and was very proud of them both.

Mal loved frequenting local restaurants with Pat, and enjoyed his many vacations with her over the years to destinations such as Europe, Las Vegas and especially Hawaii.  Mal and Pat were able to enjoy one last trip to Hawaii this past winter, where they attended a traditional luau and were invited on stage to celebrate their 47 years of marriage. When asked by the Chief about the secret to their long marriage, Mal replied “I guess that I picked the right girl.”  Mal adored Pat and was grateful for their many years together.

Mal was an incredibly special person and his passing has left a big hole in our lives.  Rest in peace Mal – we love you.

A special thank you to all of the doctors who supported Mal throughout his battle with cancer: Drs. Viallet, Hayakawa, Butler, Gordon, Kvern and Lipschitz, and many others.  Thank you as well to Melanie (Palliative Care Specialist), Teresa (Home Care Case Coordinator), many Health Care Aides including Ann, Sandra, Dayna, Aleata, Lucy, Carla, Sue, Janice, and Nurses Carol, Lara and Livia, all of whom who helped fulfill Mal’s request to stay at home through the end of his illness.  You are all very special.

Thank you to the staff at the University Medical Group for all of your support, and to all of the friends and family who helped Mal along the way.  He fought incredibly hard, surpassing everyone’s expectations (as he so often did).  You all helped in so many ways.

Darryl and Dayna would also like to thank their Mom for the extraordinary love and care that she provided to their Dad throughout his illness.

A celebration of Mal’s life will be held at 2:00pm Wednesday July 12th at Kildonan Community Church, 2373 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society or your charity of choice would be appreciated.