Obituary for Douglas John Christie
On Thursday December 16, 2021, Doug passed peacefully while napping in his favourite chair — a place he snoozed often, cherished snuggles with his Winnipeg grandkids and met his 2 weeks old Chicago granddaughter on FaceTime. Doug will be remembered for his love of family and close friends, his dedication to and pride in helping his patients, his passion for sports, his contagious laugh and his hugs.
Doug is survived by his wife of 40 years, Cathy (Grenon); his children: Trevor (Hilary), Karen (Mike) and Brett (Morgan); his grandchildren: Quinn, Reed, Camryn and Keira; his brother Grant (Angie); his mother-in-law Joan Grenon, and numerous in-laws and nieces and nephews. Doug was predeceased by his parents, John “Jack” and Lillian; his brothers Ron (Joanne) and Allen; and his father-in-law John Grenon.
Doug grew up in East Kildonan, the first of four boys. The family cottage at Otter Falls was a frequent destination during his growing years. After high school Doug worked in construction before he decided he wanted to become a physiotherapist. In 1976 he graduated from the University of Manitoba. This was the start of a successful physio career and also set the wheels in motion to meet his wife, Cathy.
Doug met Cathy when she did a placement at his physiotherapy clinic. Of course, he kept things professional but when their paths crossed again he made his move. Cathy’s parents didn’t immediately approve – it just so happens that Cathy’s dad taught at a high school that Doug attended. When Doug showed up on his motorcycle to take Cathy on a date, her dad made his concerns clear by leaving his high school yearbook open to the page with Doug’s picture and student write up. Even so, Doug ended up winning over Cathy, and once he sold his motorcycle, her family too.
Almost 45 years ago, Doug was a founding partner of Physiotherapy Services on Osborne St, the first private practice physio clinic in Winnipeg. He was a pioneer and driving force in growing physiotherapy private practice in Winnipeg. Over the years he and Cathy added a clinic on Tache Ave, and later expanded the family business to rural locations in Ste Anne, Steinbach and Lorette. The Tache clinic was where Doug spent most of his time. He loved helping people and made many good friends through his work. He had many loyal patients who always said that he could never retire. And he never did. He enjoyed the work and the people too much to step away.
Sports were a mainstay throughout Doug’s life, as a participant as well as a coach and spectator for his kids. He excelled at water polo, rising to the ranks of Team Canada. Although he didn’t play in the Olympics due to his commitment to his physiotherapy education, he traveled to the 1972 Munich Olympics to watch his teammates. Then he backpacked around Europe. His eyes would light up when he told stories about this time in his life. Competitive curling (winning Schoolboys Champs in 1969), softball and golf were also a big part of his sports and social life before he was a family man. As his family and businesses grew, he still found time to curl, golf and play hockey, but in a less competitive manner, because the social aspect remained very important to him. He even dabbled in tennis but that was short-lived after he lost control of his racket and ended up with a self-inflicted black eye. His kids and now grandkids are also sports minded. Doug enjoyed watching almost every practice, game, competition and recital in which they were involved.
Rossmere Golf and Country Club was Doug’s home-away-from-home. He golfed as much as possible and cherished time spent on the 19th hole with his many friends. Doug also curled at Rossmere until the curling rink could no longer be sustained and then he embraced golf year-round in the simulators.
Throughout his life, Doug continued to socialize with many friends from his growing up years, but perhaps the most enduring friendships were those of the Supper Club group. In the almost 40 years of Supper Club gatherings, Doug didn’t contribute a whole lot from a culinary standpoint but he definitely contributed more than his fair share of laughs and the warmest hugs.
Doug dreamed of seeing the world while watching Wild Kingdom as a kid. He turned his childhood dream into reality taking his young family on a month-long trip that included an African safari and stops in England and Scotland to visit with his relatives Bill, Tilly, Fiona, Ken, Rebecca and other extended family. That is just one of many trips spanning numerous countries that Doug enjoyed with family and friends. During the summers Doug could be found gathering with family at the Star Lake or Otter Falls cottage and in recent years his favourite winter destination was the house in Phoenix. Countless bonds were formed and priceless memories made, regardless of the destination.
Over the years Doug found a role for his spirit of service, combining it with his hobbies and interests. For years Doug coached Special Olympics swimmers. As a member of the Y’s Men service group he spent countless cold hours staffing the Christmas tree lot and hot hours manning the Winnipeg Marathon kitchen to raise money for local charities. He also volunteered his physiotherapy skills at local sporting events and international curling bonspiels and golf tournaments. To honour the memory of a friend, Doug helped organize an annual fun and fellowship benefit golf tournament that ran for 30 years and raised over $100,000.00 for Children’s Wish Foundation.
Sadly, we, the family, must accept that Doug has left us. We will leave you with just a few more interesting traits that we’ll always remember about Doug.
• The way his face lit up when doing something with or talking about his kids or grandkids
• How welcoming he was to his kid’s partners; treating them like his own
• His love of big bowls of ice cream, Hawkins cheezies and sunflower seeds
• His signature cooking – soupy scrambled eggs, mushroom soup on toast, and his famous Denver sandwiches
• How he never learned that buying large ticket items without discussing with Cathy wasn’t a great idea (motorcycle, motorhome, Chevelle, and several other cars from auctions – an activity that he loved to do with his brother Grant)
• 99% of the time Doug was either wearing a golf shirt or a Chicago sports shirt (gifted by his daughter who lives in Chicago)
• The way he reviewed most things… “It’s actually quite nice.”
We can confidently say that, although Doug was not ready to go, he would look back at his life and know how lucky he was to have had the life he had and would sum it up as “it was actually quite nice. Really nice”. We are all really going to miss you, dad/gramps/Doug.
Should you wish to donate to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Children’s Wish Foundation or to a charity of your choice, the family thanks you. There will be a celebration of life when covid restrictions allow. He would love to have a celebration with all his friends. Friends and family are welcome to sign the online book of condolences at ejcoutu.ca.
Doug is survived by his wife of 40 years, Cathy (Grenon); his children: Trevor (Hilary), Karen (Mike) and Brett (Morgan); his grandchildren: Quinn, Reed, Camryn and Keira; his brother Grant (Angie); his mother-in-law Joan Grenon, and numerous in-laws and nieces and nephews. Doug was predeceased by his parents, John “Jack” and Lillian; his brothers Ron (Joanne) and Allen; and his father-in-law John Grenon.
Doug grew up in East Kildonan, the first of four boys. The family cottage at Otter Falls was a frequent destination during his growing years. After high school Doug worked in construction before he decided he wanted to become a physiotherapist. In 1976 he graduated from the University of Manitoba. This was the start of a successful physio career and also set the wheels in motion to meet his wife, Cathy.
Doug met Cathy when she did a placement at his physiotherapy clinic. Of course, he kept things professional but when their paths crossed again he made his move. Cathy’s parents didn’t immediately approve – it just so happens that Cathy’s dad taught at a high school that Doug attended. When Doug showed up on his motorcycle to take Cathy on a date, her dad made his concerns clear by leaving his high school yearbook open to the page with Doug’s picture and student write up. Even so, Doug ended up winning over Cathy, and once he sold his motorcycle, her family too.
Almost 45 years ago, Doug was a founding partner of Physiotherapy Services on Osborne St, the first private practice physio clinic in Winnipeg. He was a pioneer and driving force in growing physiotherapy private practice in Winnipeg. Over the years he and Cathy added a clinic on Tache Ave, and later expanded the family business to rural locations in Ste Anne, Steinbach and Lorette. The Tache clinic was where Doug spent most of his time. He loved helping people and made many good friends through his work. He had many loyal patients who always said that he could never retire. And he never did. He enjoyed the work and the people too much to step away.
Sports were a mainstay throughout Doug’s life, as a participant as well as a coach and spectator for his kids. He excelled at water polo, rising to the ranks of Team Canada. Although he didn’t play in the Olympics due to his commitment to his physiotherapy education, he traveled to the 1972 Munich Olympics to watch his teammates. Then he backpacked around Europe. His eyes would light up when he told stories about this time in his life. Competitive curling (winning Schoolboys Champs in 1969), softball and golf were also a big part of his sports and social life before he was a family man. As his family and businesses grew, he still found time to curl, golf and play hockey, but in a less competitive manner, because the social aspect remained very important to him. He even dabbled in tennis but that was short-lived after he lost control of his racket and ended up with a self-inflicted black eye. His kids and now grandkids are also sports minded. Doug enjoyed watching almost every practice, game, competition and recital in which they were involved.
Rossmere Golf and Country Club was Doug’s home-away-from-home. He golfed as much as possible and cherished time spent on the 19th hole with his many friends. Doug also curled at Rossmere until the curling rink could no longer be sustained and then he embraced golf year-round in the simulators.
Throughout his life, Doug continued to socialize with many friends from his growing up years, but perhaps the most enduring friendships were those of the Supper Club group. In the almost 40 years of Supper Club gatherings, Doug didn’t contribute a whole lot from a culinary standpoint but he definitely contributed more than his fair share of laughs and the warmest hugs.
Doug dreamed of seeing the world while watching Wild Kingdom as a kid. He turned his childhood dream into reality taking his young family on a month-long trip that included an African safari and stops in England and Scotland to visit with his relatives Bill, Tilly, Fiona, Ken, Rebecca and other extended family. That is just one of many trips spanning numerous countries that Doug enjoyed with family and friends. During the summers Doug could be found gathering with family at the Star Lake or Otter Falls cottage and in recent years his favourite winter destination was the house in Phoenix. Countless bonds were formed and priceless memories made, regardless of the destination.
Over the years Doug found a role for his spirit of service, combining it with his hobbies and interests. For years Doug coached Special Olympics swimmers. As a member of the Y’s Men service group he spent countless cold hours staffing the Christmas tree lot and hot hours manning the Winnipeg Marathon kitchen to raise money for local charities. He also volunteered his physiotherapy skills at local sporting events and international curling bonspiels and golf tournaments. To honour the memory of a friend, Doug helped organize an annual fun and fellowship benefit golf tournament that ran for 30 years and raised over $100,000.00 for Children’s Wish Foundation.
Sadly, we, the family, must accept that Doug has left us. We will leave you with just a few more interesting traits that we’ll always remember about Doug.
• The way his face lit up when doing something with or talking about his kids or grandkids
• How welcoming he was to his kid’s partners; treating them like his own
• His love of big bowls of ice cream, Hawkins cheezies and sunflower seeds
• His signature cooking – soupy scrambled eggs, mushroom soup on toast, and his famous Denver sandwiches
• How he never learned that buying large ticket items without discussing with Cathy wasn’t a great idea (motorcycle, motorhome, Chevelle, and several other cars from auctions – an activity that he loved to do with his brother Grant)
• 99% of the time Doug was either wearing a golf shirt or a Chicago sports shirt (gifted by his daughter who lives in Chicago)
• The way he reviewed most things… “It’s actually quite nice.”
We can confidently say that, although Doug was not ready to go, he would look back at his life and know how lucky he was to have had the life he had and would sum it up as “it was actually quite nice. Really nice”. We are all really going to miss you, dad/gramps/Doug.
Should you wish to donate to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Children’s Wish Foundation or to a charity of your choice, the family thanks you. There will be a celebration of life when covid restrictions allow. He would love to have a celebration with all his friends. Friends and family are welcome to sign the online book of condolences at ejcoutu.ca.