Reg Alcock

I will never forget his sense of humour, and still chuckle about one particular meeting with the Canadian Wheat Board’s Directors and senior management.

They were going on about poor service from CN and CP and how the railways were abusing their virtual monopoly powers.

Reg said, “Yeah, don’t you hate it when monopolies abuse their power.”

1/2 the Board was nodding in agreement and the other 1/2 was going, wait a minute, we’re a monopoly! Was that a shot at us?

When we walked out Reg turned to me, beamed a big smile, and said to me, “That was priceless.”

I still laugh today at that memory.

Our sympathies to you Karen, and to your family. I hope this story and memory of Reg and his good humour will help you in the weeks and months ahead. He was a good man, with a good soul.

Richard Phillips

Reg Alcock gave me my first real job.

The year was 2003. I was studying political science at the University of Winnipeg. A friend of my mother’s, who was actively involved with Reg’s constituency association, suggested I pay a visit to Reg’s office to discuss how I could get more involved with his various political activities. I did, and thus began a truly remarkable adventure that took me from volunteer to paid staffer, from constituency assistant to communications professional, from Winnipeg to Ottawa, and, most importantly, from young adult to grown man.

For that, and for so much more, I’ll forever be thankful to Reg. He took a gamble hiring me — an untested young turk — and presented me with so many extraordinary opportunities during my time with him: telling his story in countless constituency brochures and letters; accompanying him to so many fascinating meetings and events; helping him represent his constituents, our province, this country so ably and so passionately.

What an education!

Indeed, everything I learned about politics and about public service, I learned from Reg; about communications, Reg; about campaigning, Reg; about hard work, dedication and perseverance, Reg.

I may have received a degree in political science from the University of Winnipeg, but I was schooled in the subject by Reg Alcock.

And yet, my time with Reg wasn’t merely academic, nor was it merely professional; it was personal. For I came of age working for Reg.

Going from university student to working adult, from my parents’ house to my very own apartment, from the city in which I grew up to one I barely knew: profoundly formative years in my life. And Reg was there; the constant, the cause, the purpose, the pillar around which my life revolved.

My time in politics is behind me now, but the time I spent with Reg and his political family — the lessons learned, experiences had, friendships forged — will forever be a part of who I am.

Thank you, Reg. You were and remain one of a kind. May you rest in peace.

I had the tremendous opportunity to met Mr. Alcock at the parking lot area of St. Mary’s Academic. During the time he was waiting for his sweet daughter Sarah and I was waiting for lovely Adriana (Ai). He always showed peace in his mind, trust in his words, happiness, and care in his greetings.

My daughter Adriana has the opportunity to spoke, learned, enjoyed his parenting style, sense of humour, and hospitality. No doubt, what she always will remember of him is that he always had inspirational words to say to everyone who visit his house. Thank you Mr. Alock for be light, guide an excellent inspiration as a model for others.

To his lovely family I would like to present this tough “For those who have been faithful, O lord, life is not ended. An eternal dwelling place awaits them in heaven” With the Sympathy of Sandra Ortiz and Adriana (Ai)Cardona.

My condolences to his whole family and all his friends. He was a true leader and a great Manitoban.

Taken too soon. A great guy who really made a difference for a lot of people when he was in politics . I wish there were more Canadians like him … We will miss you my friend .

Dear Karen, Sarah, Matthew and Cristina:

I have been a supporter and admirer of Reg for many years and shared the pain of his not winning in the last election and watched with interest as he moved on, continuing to contribute to our great country.

I shall never forget when I sent him, by email, my rather lengthy list of issues of concern that I perceived needed to be addressed. Despite his heavy workload, he sat down and responded carefully and thoughtfully to each point that I raised.

Your husband and father was truly a great human being and one who was admired by many. May your memories of him sustain you in this time of your loss and in the years to come. My thoughts are with you.

Evelyn Kristjanson Downey

Dear Karen,

My condolences to you and family on the passing of Reg. Reg agreed to be our key note speaker at the IIA Canada Audit Leadership event in Toronto on September 28th that I organized. His presentation was excellent and his comments after on the panel were thought provoking. I spoke with him a few times before and during the event about his book on governance in the public sector and was excited about the prospect of reading it in the future. I only hope that it was far enough along to be published.

He was an inspiring person who believed in and spoke proudly about the work of the public sector. I feel fortunate to have met him.

Reg and I began a long and wonderful friendship when we were both standing on the shoreline in Pine Falls waiting to be picked up by a Float Plane to take us to a northern wilderness program. Reg was the Director of Camp Robertson..his roots are truly entrenched in the belief that youth are our future. That beleif had never changed!!
Reg could not believe that I was a born and raised Calgarian that voted LIBERAL. That of course was the beginning of his coercing to get on board the Reg train (ing) program for his future campaigns.
As I sit and type I reflect on the party’s, eating Mexican food in his mom’s house on Beaverbrook, celebrating New Year’s at Moose Lake, campaining , and campaining, long talks, touring my son through the School of Business, and on and on and on….
I smile with what I believe to be his greatest accomplishment, marrying Karen, and being a father, a dad to Sarah, Matthew and Christina.
When you have known someone for so long this space is “too small” to begin to share the volumes of stories that went along with being Reg’s friend.
Reg, as your friend, I salute you for your brilliant mind, your creative thinking, for your passion and commitment to all and everything that you believed in, for your generosity, for your truth, and for your devotion to your family. Reg, you will be so missed!
Karen, Sarah, Matthew and Christina, please accept our sincerest sympathies and know that you are in our families thoughts..and prayers.
Marion, Craig, Chelsey and Keaton

Uncle Reg,

Sunday dinner’s will not be the same with out you. We will miss all of the jokes, magic tricks, and especially, we will miss being called “sparky” or “kiddo”. You had a great sense of humour always made dinners very enjoyable.
We will love and miss you. Rest in peace.

Nicole and Bre

Friday, October 21st, 2011

To: Karen, Sarah, Matthew and Christina:

I first met Reg in 1967 whe he was a child care worker at Children’s Home (Conora Stree unit) and I was anew supervisor in Portage la Prairie. It was obvious that Reg seemed to walk to a different drum than everyone else. It wasn’t until the late seventies when Reg became the E.D. at Seven Oaks Centre for Youth that his approach to children and youth in care proved to be dramatucally different. He actually expected his staff to trust and respect the incarcerated youth. In 1981 I became the provincial coordinator of child abuse and within a couple of years, Reg became my boss as the Director of Child Welfare for Manitoba. The Childres’s Aid Society of Winnipeg was in bitter turmoil; changes were desperately needed. Reg met the challenges head on and major organizational changes did occur. In the next couple of years, from 1983 to 1985, he spearheaded an effort to rewrite the province’s child protection legislation. As a result of his efforts, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to introduce official protocols to deal with instances of child sex abuse. He seemed to work almost 24/7 and I often wondered when he ever slept. Often I had to consult with him virtually at the crack of dawn. He never seemed to stop. He even managed to fly down to Halifax on the weekend to “Ghost write” a speech for a Liberal senator, stop into Harvard on the way back amd not miss a beat when he got back here in Manitoba.

As a fellow Liberal, we would continue to meet over the years. Over all of those years I will always remember Reg as the ultimate communicator, as someone who was always on the cutting edge of organization change and someone I could always count on. No matter what his position, he always made time to greet and talk with you. Reg always impressed me as seeing the “total picture” and did not settle for mediocrity. When we met, we often commiserated about his weight and diabetes but he seemed to be meeting the challenge. For me, his ultimate contribution was his continuing concern for the plight of all children especially those who became involved with the child and family services system. Truly his compassion for children was in his heart of hearts one of his true passions.

We are deeply saddened at his untimely and sudden death. He had so much more to offer to all but especially with you, his wife and family, whom he so loved.

Elizabeth Barret Browning poetically described the end of life as a return to pure love::

“Guess now who holds thee? -
“Death” I said. But there
The silver answer rang -
“Not death, but love.”

We will miss Reg, his wit, his gentle giant of a frame, his ability to enjoy life to its fullest and above all his love and compassion. Eternal rest grant unto his soul and may the perpetual light shine upon his soul. May you continue to be blessed with his love and with the memories of someone who as child care worker, a director of child welfare, a polician, but above all, as a husband and father, truly was loved and respected.

With our love and prayers,
Pauline & John Chudzik
Portage la Prairie

I had the honour and Privledge of saying a few words about my dear friend Reg Alcock today in the Senate, Oct 20th, 2011

Honourable Senators,

I rise today to praise a man, a giant of a man, with a giant heart, a gentle man, with a whispering walk, piercing eyes and when needed, thunder in his voice.

He has the uncanny ability to recognize our strength and abilities and forgive our trespasses. As in the theme from Star Trek “He went where no man has gone before!”

Honourable Senators, he believed in the power in all of us, especially young persons, and helped each one of us realize our hidden talents, that we never knew we possessed! He taught us to think big and in the immortal words of one his colleagues in cabinet, Belinda Stronach, “Think as big as you can and then double it!”

His contribution to his riding, community, province, country and the world was immeasurable. As Treasury Board President, he championed, revolutionized, pioneered and reformed open government and access to information. A landmark that will always stand proudly, as he initially secured the federal government funding, is the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg. I am meeting with the Mayor of Winnipeg next week, and I am going to recommend that they revise the name to the Reg Alcock Canadian Museum of Human Rights.

Honourable Senators, he was a dear friend and colleague and without his support and that of his partner in life, Karen, I would not be standing here today, delivering this speech.

To Karen, Sarah, Matthew, Christina and family, our deepest sympathies from Maygan and I, as we celebrate his life at the Immanuel Pentecostal Church tomorrow in Winnipeg. And as the warrior said in the movie, as they carried the Gladiator out the Coliseum, “we will join you in heaven, but not just yet- not just yet!”

Good bye my friend, Good bye and may God bless you forever and a day!

Karen, Sarah, Matthew and Christina,

We are very sorry for your great loss of your husband and father. We never met Reg which we consider our loss. From all that we have read about him, he was a very loving and caring man.

Our prayers have been with you throughout, from the moment we heard of his passing until now, and we shall pray in the future as well as you try to adjust to life without him.

God Bless all of you! Larry and Sheila Shepherd (cousins), Grande Prairie, Alberta

So sad to hear that he’s gone. Our deepest sympathy. Our prayers are with the family of Reg. May he rest in peace.

From:
the Carrol’s

I will always remember Reg as a generous, kind and very congenial colleague who was always ready to lend an ear and help find concrete solutions to problems. Reg did everything with a great sense of humility and always with a smile. I will also remember how much he dearly cherished his family, because when we were both first elected MPs in 1993,he had a young family like myself, and he always went to this office, after a long day fulfilling his parliamentary and constitutuency duties, to talk to his children and wife via the web. I will never forget that he told me then that they were the most important thing in his life and to never loose sight of this as we serve our country. I wish to offer my most sincere sympathies to Reg’s family and friends. Rest in peace, my friend and you will be greatly missed.

I remember the first time I met Reg, I was a student at the University of Manitoba, and he was there during student days at the beginning of the year, speaking with him he made it for an easy choice to myself as a young person to become a member of the party. He always stressed the importance of the youth voice, it didnt matter if your ideas were totally in left field, he listened and seemed to always know how to put a spin on the point you were trying to make to make it more in line with both gov’t and party policies.
Reg was always there, when you needed advice, or a friendly hello when things weren’t going well. Reg instantly became a friend.

I will always remember seeing Reg at Campbell House on wonderful Wednesdays, he made it such an enjoyment being part of the party. He truly was one of the ones that made everyone feel part of it, and it didn’t matter if you were a “new” liberal or an “old” liberal, in his eyes everyone was equal.

You will be greatly missed Reg, I am sure you are having great debates up in heaven with Jack Layton and a member in Pierre Trudeau’s cabinet.

RIP my Friend