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W.H. 'Tex' Galpin Winnipeg MB, Canada QCWA # 8594 |
W. H. (TEX) GALPIN - Tex was born September 15, 1920 in the Village of Starcross, Devonshire, England, the eldest son of Harry and Margaret Elizabeth Galpin. He was 92 when he died, peacefully, in the early morning hours, on February 7, 2013, in Winnipeg. Tex was predeceased in 1984 by his wife of 41 years, Patricia Helen (Redding), and by his sister Doreen Collard Boustred of Saltash, Cornwall, England. He is survived by his brother Donald William Galpin of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, and by his half-sister Barbara Ann Mattravers of Taunton, Somerset, England, as well as by his brother-in-law, Robert Stanley Richardson, of Winnipeg, and several nieces and nephews in Canada and in the UK.
Tex entered the Royal Air Force in late 1938, serving in a variety of postings. In 1941 he applied for an overseas posting to the Middle-East Theatre of operations. The RAF, in its wisdom, saw fit to post him to Canada where he served for over two years on the staff of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program.
In Canada he met his wife, Patricia. They married in Montreal in 1943, on October 6, and determined to make Winnipeg, Pat's adopted city, their eventual home. Pat and Tex moved to Winnipeg after the war.
Tex joined the RCAF (Aux) 402 City of Winnipeg Squadron, later serving as Chief Technical Officer of 2402 A.C. W. Radar Unit in Winnipeg. Upon transfer to Toronto in 1955 by his employer he served in the same position with 2400 A.C. W. Radar Unit at Toronto. Transferred back to Winnipeg in 1959, he served as Senior Telecommunications Officer with 17 Wing RCAF (Aux) HQ. He retired from the RCAF (Aux) in 1963 with the rank of Squadron Leader. In 1946 he joined Pioneer Electronic Limited as a design draftsman, becoming assistant to the Chief Engineer.
Always interested in Radio Communications, he joined Canadian Motorola Electronics in 1951, and served in a number of management positions for 23 years, in Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Toronto. Tex spent a year with the Ontario Police Commission as a communication s consultant, planning for the implementation of their VHF police radio system. Then, from 1974 1991, the year of his retirement, he worked for Sinclair Radio Laboratories, specializing in the field of VHF and UHF antenna systems and their application engineering in the field of multicoupled transmitting and receiving atennas. Tex was an avid pilot. He owned a number of aircraft, ranging from a Cessna 170 to a Harvard (AT6).
Honouring a promise made early in life, he let his license lapse in his 70th year. Also an active Radio Amateur, first licensed in England in 1936, and relicensed in Winnipeg in 1947 with the call sign VE4AB.
A keen and excellent photographer, he was a long-time member of the Photographic Society of America.
Professionally, from 1947, he was an active member of the Institute of Radio Engineers, later the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, serving as Section Chairman, Vehicular Technology on several occasions in both Toronto and Winnipeg.
A Life Member of the American Radio Relay League since 1947, he was elected to Fellowship in the Radio Club of America in 1989.
Tex lived happily at the Sturgeon Creek Retirement Home until declining health compelled him to surrender his cherished independence. This he did with grace, and at his own instigation. In addition to the fine personnel at Sturgeon Creek, the family also thanks the kind staff at Grace Hospital, Deer Lodge Hospital, Oakview Personal Care Centre, and Lion's Manor Personal Care Centre where Tex died on February 7, 2013.
The family also acknowledges the great love and support Tex received from his beloved friends Molly Holt and Amy McCormick, and from his niece, Susan Richardson. Tex was a person of deep principle and quiet faith. He was stubborn but honourable; he was a gentleman, always. We will miss him. We wish him a safe and happy flight. Cremation has taken place.