Stanley Harwood McCuaig explained

Stanley Harwood McCuaig
Honorific-Suffix: LLD
Office1:20th President of the Canadian Bar Association
Predecessor1:John Thomas Hackett, KC
Successor1:A.N. Carter, K.C., LL.D.
Term Start1:1948
Term End1:1949
Office2:President of the Law Society of Alberta
Predecessor2:Laurence Yeomans Cairns, QC, LL.D.
Successor2:Everett James Chambers, QC
Term Start2:1952
Term End2:1953
Birth Date:February 11, 1891
Birth Place:Bainsville, Ontario
Death Place:Edmonton, Alberta
Nationality:Canadian
Spouse:Hazel Rutherford
Relations:Alexander Rutherford, former Premier of Alberta (father-in-law)
Children:Eric Alexander Duncan McCuaig, Q.C. (1920-2015)
Ruth McCuaig Bate (died 1983)
Helen "Honey" Rutherford McEvoy (née McCuaig) (1924-2016)
Harwood Stanley McCuaig (1926-2015)
Alma Mater:Queen's University
Profession:Lawyer
Allegiance:Canadian Army
Branch:Royal Canadian Artillery
Serviceyears:1917–18
Battles:World War I

Western Front

Stanley Harwood McCuaig, (February 11, 18911986), was a prominent Canadian lawyer in Edmonton, Alberta.

Early life and education

McCuaig was born at Bainsville, Ontario, the son of Duncan Donald McCuaig.[1] He was educated at Williamstown, Ontario and then attended Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, graduating with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1913.[2] Following graduation, he moved west to Edmonton, Alberta, where he became a law student, articled to Alexander Rutherford, the former Premier of Alberta.[1]

Military service

On April 20, 1917, at Lethbridge, Alberta McCuaig enlisted in the Canadian Army, joining the Canadian Field Artillery (78th Depot Battery) of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.[1] He fought on the Western Front with the Canadian Corps and was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry in action.[3]

Marriage and family

After the war, McCuaig returned to Edmonton and resumed working with Rutherford. In 1919, McCuaig married Rutherford's daughter, Hazel Rutherford. Together, the couple had four children: two sons and two daughters.[3] [4] [5] [6]

McCuaig and his family were long-time members of First Presbyterian Church of Edmonton.[7]

Law career

McCuaig practised with the Rutherford firm for many years, but, in 1939, he left to establish his own firm, McCuaig, Desrochers, Beckingham & McDonald, which continues today as McCuaig Desrochers LLP. In 1948, his son Eric McCuaig joined the firm. McCuaig practised law in Edmonton for almost 60 years, setting very high practice standards for himself and for the firm.[8]

In 1949 and 1950, McCuaig was the president of the Canadian Bar Association, a voluntary professional association of lawyers across Canada.[9] From 1952-53, he served as the President of the Law Society of Alberta, the regulatory body for lawyers in Alberta. Some twenty years later, his son Eric McCuaig was also elected President of the Law Society.[10]

In 1949, Queen's University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.[2] The Dr. Stanley Harwood McCuaig Scholarship is awarded at Queen's Law School to students with high standing in courses in Property Law, Business Associations and Commercial Law.[11]

Notes and References

  1. http://canadiangreatwarproject.com/searches/soldierDetail.asp?ID=142386 Canadian Great War Project: Stanley Harwood McCuaig.
  2. http://www.queensu.ca/registrar/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.uregwww/files/files/HDrecipients.pdf Queen's University Honorary Degrees, 1858 to present.
  3. http://www.canadaveteranshallofvalour.com/McCuaigSH.htm Canada Veterans Hall of Valour: Stanley Harwood McCuaig.
  4. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/edmontonjournal/obituary.aspx?pid=176532799 Edmonton Journal: "Harwood Stanley McCuaig", November 17, 2015.
  5. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/vancouversun/obituary.aspx?pid=176838358 Vancouver Sun: "Eric Alexander McCuaig Obituary", December 10, 2015.
  6. http://www.obittree.com/obituary/ca/british-columbia/vancouver/kearney-funeral-services/helen-honey-mcevoy-nee-mccuaig/2574793/ ObitTree: "Helen 'Honey' Rutherford McEvoy (Nee McCuaig) Tribute", 2016
  7. Kenneth Munro, First Presbyterian Church, Edmonton: A History (Victoria: Trafford Publishing, 2004).
  8. http://www.mccuaig.com/History/tabid/55/language/en-US/Default.aspx McCuaig Desrochers LLP: Our History.
  9. http://www.cba.org/Who-We-Are/Governance/President-Executive/Past-CBA-Presidents Canadian Bar Association: Past-Presidents.
  10. http://www.lawsociety.ab.ca/files/financial/annual_report_2006.pdf Law Society of Alberta Annual Report, 2006, p 14.
  11. http://www.canadian-universities.net/Scholarships/D/Dr-Stanley-Harwood-McCuaig-Scholarship.html Canada's Higher Education and Career Guide: Dr. Stanley Harwood McCuaig Scholarship.