Richard Duncan Millar

It is with a heavy heart that the family and friends of Richard announce his passing on June 11 of 2022 at the age of 80.

Richard was raised in Fork River, MB a few kilometers north of Dauphin, MB, He was one of eight children of Andrew and Anne Millar. They had a large family of 4 sons (Roy, Paul, Richard, Wilfred) and 4 daughters (Eva, Emily, Renna, Margaret). They had many adventures and caused a lot of mayhem when they were kids, which continued on into their adult lives.

In his adult life, Richard worked at the mines in Thompson, MB. While in Thompson, he also set trap lines and honed his hunting/ fishing skills. In his free time, he played guitar and sang in local bands. After moving to Winnipeg, he worked at the Winnipeg Art Gallery as a security guard, where he met the love of his life Rita Krawzuk. He worked his way up to the position of Head of Security over the 35 years he worked there, later retiring in 2005.

Richard and Rita were married on January 5,1974 and had 4 children together; Richard (Jr.), Roxanne, Ronald, and Randy. As a family they went on a few long family trips to be remembered and a lot of short tubing trips in Red Lake Falls, MN and to visit family in Amaranth, MB. Richard loved to teach his kids how to play sports and loved to play with them. He was also very competitive, and If you knew Richard very well, you knew he didn’t like to lose and gave it his all every time he played. That determination wore off on his kids.

Richard’s kids grew up and soon started their own families (Rick/Lisa, Roxy, Ronny/Christa, Randy/Samantha). Richard loved being a grandpa and cherished every moment with his grandkids (Carter, Nathaniel, Liam, Jacob, Aria, Rhys, Ethan, Grace, and Elias). Whether it was going to their sports games, concerts, shows, or birthday parties, grandpa would be there to cheer them on.

Richard loved to play sports, He played hockey his whole life on many teams throughout Manitoba. He finished his career in “The Old Timers” hockey league during the 80’s. When his children grew up, he played in a softball league with them, was at every sponge hockey game and might have got into a few tussles coaching from the bench. He supported every single sport that his kids played. He never missed a game whether it was hockey, baseball, football, or basketball. He joined the ‘Eagles Sunday Night Bowling League’ at Rosemere Bowling Lanes and bowled for over 10 years loving every minute of it. He also would go fishing with “The Good Ole Boys” (Jim, Barry, Don, and sometimes Jim's grandson Brendin) or he fished with his brother Wilfred’s family, which included his nephew Jerry and his son Ryan.

Richard’s other favorite pastimes were trying to develop a surefire system to predict the lottery numbers for Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max with his brothers Wilfred and Paul. They would call each other multiple times a day to discuss the results and if they should play. He would spend most of his evenings and free time ‘working on his numbers’ as he would say. If he were not working on his numbers, he loved to go hangout at the casino with his brother Wilfred and his wife Monika, and Jim and his wife Sam so he could visit with all his buddies. He said most times his coffee lasted longer than their luck but occasionally they would strike it big. His real passion though, was playing the guitar with his brother Paul and sister Emily. He started to jam with his nephew Jerry and eventually rock out with his son Ryan. They would get together at Paul’s and play the day away. Richard never looked at the musical notes and played by ear and could pick up any song just by hearing the melody.

Sadly, on December 1st, 2010, Richard’s only daughter Roxanne lost her battle with leukemia, and it took an immense toll on him. Despite this loss, Richard never became bitter, instead choosing to try cheer you up after you lost a game or if you had a rough day at school. Anyone who met Richard liked him instantly and he could have them busting a gut laughing within 5 minutes flat. The stories he told captivated everyone who had the fortune of listening to them and he never seemed to run out of stories. Everyone who was close to him will miss the first call you would receive on a Birthday or Anniversary; or just to call to say hello.

Instead of flowers or donations, Richard would rather you take that money and go hit the slots at the Casino and try to win big. If gambling is not your style, then go pick up a bucket of chicken from KFC and enjoy it with your family, that would give him a real smile.