Calgary Cartoonist Was Also Painter
by BK Munn
Gordon A. Reid, a cartoonist and painter who worked for the Calgary Herald, has died. Reid died February 26 of a combination renal failure and complications from diabetes.
Reid came of age in the 1940s and 50s idolizing Walt Disney and Al Capp, and later channeled his artistic ambitions into the world of advertising. He spent most of his working life in the Calgary advertising industry, occasionally picking up gigs as a cartoonist. He provided illustrations and editorial cartoons to Oilweek Magazine for several years and drew the “Chinook Country” strip for the Calgary Herald and a panel cartoon called “Kootenay-fied” for the Nelson B.C. Daily News.
Reid later branched into a career as a painter after a 1980s stint studying under Mad cartoonist Peter Porges and painter Nancy Chunn at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
Reid is survived by two children. A memorial service will be held March 5 in the Procter Community Hall. Donations in his name are being accepted by the New Book Funding Initiative for the library bearing his name, located in the community centre of his adopted hometown of Procter, B.C.
The Library Fund of the Procter Community Society
Box 5
Procter, British Columbia
V0G 1V0
Family obituary