Douglas "Doug" Giesbrecht

Douglas “Doug” Giesbrecht passed away peacefully on March 2, 2020 at his residence in Portage la Prairie at the age of 58 years.

Doug was born on July 30, 1961 in Winnipeg, MB.  He is survived by his daughter Abby; son Ryan; their mother Tonya; his mother Agnes; sister Debra; brother Ron all of Winnipeg; Aunt Sharon & Uncle Norm of Portage la Prairie as well as numerous aunts, uncles and extended family.

He was predeceased by his father Klaas “Nick”; grandparents John & Katherine Giesbrecht and James and Dorothy Hall.

Hockey was a huge part of Doug’s life.  As a little kid, his mother drove him to the rink, tied his skates and faithfully watched his games.  He played competitive hockey until the age of seventeen years.  Doug followed in his dad’s footsteps and became a transport driver.  Right out of school, he drove for Scott National delivering grocery orders to all the little towns in the Interlake region.  Store owners could set their watch by him as punctuality was very important to him.  Later he drove long distance for New Hope. Doug and Tonya bought a house and moved to Sanford.  Abby and Ryan were born there.  They also had two black labs, Tiny and George.   With new responsibilities and twenty five years under his belt, Doug stopped driving long distance.  He drove a bulk water delivery truck for Lee’s Water Delivery in Sanford.   And later he helped Norm Giesbrecht at World of Water, delivering water to various communities.

After hitting a rough spot, later in his life, Doug moved in with his Aunt Sharon and Norm in Portage for a few months.   In May of 2012, he moved to the Fisher Avenue apartments where he cut the ribbon for the grand opening.  He lived there until his passing.

Doug was very familiar with the library and spent a lot of time there.  He was a veracious reader of WWI and WWII books.  His grandpa Hall was a WWI vet.  Doug also read National Geographic magazines.  He enrolled in school at the Portage Learning Center to take math, English and computer classes.

Doug was always very grateful for the help and opportunities given to him by the various people and programs he was involved with, knowing full well that without these inputs he wouldn’t have made it.     In return he became a friend and lent a hand to fellow residents.  Doug loved to cook real food.  At Christmas he would cook his turkey from the Salvation Army hamper to share with others in his apartment complex.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel at 1:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Doug may be made to CancerCare Manitoba Foundation 1160-675 McDermot Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0V9 or to the Hearth and Stroke Foundation, 1379 Kenaston Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3P 2T5.

A tree will be planted and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel. www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com 204-857-4021