Obituaries

Over the years, Nestor and I played in bands together and over lunches I captured some of his history as a musician. He was making music for 90 of his 100 years. He said that playing the trumpet, performing in bands and meeting a wide variety of musicians had enriched his life. His Dad had played violin so Nestor at age 10 was taking violin lessons but by age 11 he was playing trumpet and performing in the King Edward School band. At university in 1940, Nestor was part of a trio providing backing for Monty Hall who led pep rallies for the war effort. During the summer of 1941, he played nightly with a 9-piece band at the Winnipeg Beach Pavilion. He rated this job (his lingo for a gig) as the most fun time playing. Perhaps it was because he was staying at the beach for the summer. Nestor rated his time with the Men of Note band playing at the Gimli Pavilion in the 50s as the runner up, the second best time for fun. My last gig with Nestor was with the Murray Riddell Big Band when Nestor was in his mid 90s - still competent and happy to stand up for a trumpet solo. Band members and the audience loved him. Based on the sound of the band and the caliber of the musicians, he rated Murray’s band as his best all-time music job. Yes, Nestor was a gentleman, a competent engineer and an accomplished musician. Joe Mackintosh

My first contact with Ness was about 40 years ago when I was with Manitoba Hydro and he was with the provincial Water Resources. At our meetings, he was very task oriented, always working with a pleasant disposition. In our retirement years we reconnected at the Reh-Fit centre. He had a deprecating sense of humour , with a hearty laugh. We had fun times. Ness was a man with integrity.