Duncan MacDonald 523 - 17 St. South Lethbridge, AB T1] 3C4 Phone: (403)320-0308

Duncan was born on December 24, 1929, the second of two children of John MacDonald and Catherine McKirmon. Duncan’s mother died at the time of his birth and he was raised by his maternal grandparents Mary Ann and Peter McKinnon. Duncan’s father moved away when he was seven months old.

Duncan attended Monticello and Selkirk elementary schools and completed high school at St.Peter’s Bay and St. Dunstan’s. He graduated with a BA. fiom St. Dunstan’s University in 1951. Thereafter completing his Bachelor of Social Work and Masters in Social Work at the University of Calgary, Alberta.

Duncan says that his initial pursuits in the area of employment were not particularly fruitful in terms of developing into a career. However, he notes, “as I look back on those experiences, each endeavor had some value in preparing me for my eventual career choice of social work” He worked at Dofasco in Hamilton, Ontario, for the first two years following graduation, then on to the West where in Winnipeg, he was employed by a dairy company which also employed a close relative of Joe Shreenan’s . Here Duncan notes: “my workplace was next door to a CNIB facility and people traveling to that building used the same street car that I used. Accordingly, I routinely escorted one or more of them across Portage Avenue each morning. I used to wonder to myself if God would reward me with at least functional eyesight for my lifetime. So far, so good.”

Later, Dunc took on a teaching job in rural Manitoba but found it wasn’t for him, and moved on to Vancouver. There he was persuaded by a fellow Maritimer that a trip to Germany with all costs covered could be achieved by joining the Canadian Army. Six years later afier being an Orderly Room Clerk, 3 Pharmaceutical Clerk, an X-ray technician, a lecturer on academic courses, and most