Larry Murray was born in Stratford, Ontario on June 6, 1947, and enrolled in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1964. Following graduation from Carleton University in Ottawa, he served at sea in a variety of ships based in Halifax, N.S., and Esquimalt, B.C. While commanding HMCS Iroquois, he took part in the successful rescue of the crew of the foundering freighter Ho Ming Number 5 in a gale south of Newfoundland for which several crew members received medals for bravery or awards and HMCS Iroquois received the Canadian Forces Unit Commendation.
Shore appointments included senior staff officer plans, as well as deputy chief of staff for personnel and training in Maritime Command Headquarters and director general, maritime doctrine and operations in National Defence Headquarters. In 1991 he was promoted rear-admiral and assumed the duties of associate deputy minister for policy and communications. He was promoted to vice-admiral and appointed deputy chief of the defence staff in early 1993, commanded Maritime Command in 1994, and became the vice-chief of the defence staff in 1995. Vice-Admiral Murray assumed the additional duties of acting chief of the defence staff in 1996.
After retirement from the Canadian Forces in 1997 he joined the public service as associate deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans, was appointed deputy minister of Veterans Affairs Canada in 1999 and was subsequently appointed deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans in 2003. He retired from the public service in 2007.
Mr. Murray was invested as an Officer of the Order of Military Merit in 1983 and was promoted Commander 10 years later. He received the Vimy Award and in 2001 he was invested in the Order of St. John. He served in the honorary position of Colonel Commandant of the Chaplain Branch of the CF for five years and was awarded the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation for his contribution to the care and well-being of veterans and to the remembrance of their service and sacrifice.
Mr. Murray was a member of the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP, a Trudeau Foundation Mentor and serves as President of the Nova Scotia Mainland Division of the Navy League of Canada. He is also a Member of the National Defence Audit Committee and Chair of the Privy Council Audit Committee.
Mr. Murray is married to Claudia Buckley and they live in Bayswater, N.S. They have six children and five grand-children. He was appointed to the honorary position of Dominion Grand President in June 2010.
June 2012
The following is a list of
the Dominion Command Senior Elected Officers of The Royal Canadian Legion. They may
be contacted by mail by writing to:
Comrade Gordon Moore of Elmira, Ont., joined the Canadian Army where he served with the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. He was elected to be a Dominion First Vice-President of The Royal Canadian Legion at the 43rd Dominion Convention in Winnipeg in 2010 and was acclaimed as Dominion President at the 44th Dominion Convention in Halifax in 2012.
He is a member of the Elmira Branch 469 of The Royal Canadian Legion which he joined in 1985. He served on the Branch Executive and all its committees including being the Poppy Committee Chairman. He became Branch President in 1989. From there he went on to Command his Zone and District until he was elected as a Vice-President of Ontario Command in 1999. He became its President in 2005. He has been a member of the Dominion Executive Council since 1999 and has served on its Membership, Public Relations and Poppy and Remembrance Committees. He now takes over as Chairman of the Veterans, Services and Seniors Committee, The Royal Commonwealth Ex-services League Committee and will serve on several financial committees.
He has been an avid volunteer aside from his Legion work and has worked with minor soccer and junior and senior softball leagues. He has also volunteered with the Children’s Wish Foundation. He is married to Kathy and they have one daughter, Dawn.
June 2012
Tom Eagles
Dominion First Vice-President
The Royal Canadian Legion
Comrade Tom Eagles is an Associate and Life member of The Royal Canadian Legion. He is from Plaster Rock, New Brunswick and was elected as the Dominion First Vice-President at the June 2012 Dominion Convention in Halifax. He belongs to Marble Arch Branch 29 in New Brunswick Command.
He was Secretary, 2nd Vice-President, 1st Vice-President and President of his branch. The latter position he held for three terms – 1986-87, 1998-99 and 2009-10. He has been a Deputy District Commander, District Commander, Provincial Command 2nd and 1st Vice-President and was elected President in 2005. He was on the Dominion Executive Council from 2003 to 2006 and served on the Dominion Command Constitution and Laws Committee twice. From 2006 to 2008 he served on the Dominion Command Poppy and Remembrance Committee and in 2010 was appointed as its Chairman. He assumed Chairmanship of the Public Relations Committee on his election.
He is currently President of the Plaster Rock Minor Hockey Association and spent five years on the Tobique Valley Manor board. Comrade Eagles has received the Meritorious Service Medal from the Legion and he has received the 125th Anniversary Medal, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and then Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. He is married to the former Cheryl Giberson and they have four children – Ryan, Daniel, Brook and Brett. Comrade Eagles enjoys hockey, baseball and golf.
Comrade Peter Piper has been a member of The Royal Canadian Legion for 34 years. During his tenure he has held offices at the branch, zone, district and provincial level. He was elected Provincial President of Saskatchewan Command in 2009 and was elected as a Dominion Vice-President at the 44th Dominion Convention in Halifax in 2012.
He has been a member of the Dominion Executive Council for six years and has served on the Poppy and Remembrance Committee. He is now Chairman of the Membership Committee.
Comrade Piper was awarded the Saskatchewan Volunteer’s Medal, the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal presented in 2012. He was awarded The Royal Canadian Legion’s Meritorious Service Medal in 2011.
He resides in Stoughton, Saskatchewan, and has three children. He is a rancher, has served as Chairman of the Border International Field Trials since 1984, is Chairman of the Stoughton Housing Authority and has been a president of the Stoughton Curling Club.
Comrade David (Dave) Flannigan is an Ordinary and Life Member of Branch 47 of The Royal Canadian Legion in Labrador City, NL. He has been a member of the Legion for 35 years and is originally from Lawn, Placentia Bay on Newfoundland’s South Coast. He was elected as a Dominion Vice-President at the June 2010 Dominion Convention in Winnipeg and again at the 44th Dominion Convention in Halifax in 2012.
He has been on numerous committees at the branch level and has served as President of his branch from 1998 to 2003 and again in 2010. He still serves the branch as past president. Comrade Flannigan has also served as District Commander District 6 in Labrador, Provincial Membership Chairman, Provincial Sports Chiorman, 1st and 2nd Vice-President and President of Newfoundland and Labrador Command. He served as the command’s representative on the Dominion Executive Council from 2007 to 2009 and has served on the Dominion Command Poppy and Remembrance Committee from 2008 to 2010 and as Chairman of the Dominion Command Sports Committee from 2010 to 2012. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Dominion Command Poppy and Remembrance Committee.
Comrade Flannigan is a retired millwright from the Iron Ore Company of Canada, has owned and operated his own business and is now a sales manager for Hercules SLR Inspections in Labrador City. He is a member of the Javelin Boat Dock Association and a Co-Chair of the Legion Hospital Telethon Committee. He is married to his wife Vera and they combined have six children, Mitchell, Tanya, Dean, Dwayne, Dale, and Danny and 12 grandchildren. He enjoys fishing and boating sports and remains committed to the Poppy and Remembrance activities of the Legion.
Comrade Ed Pigeau joined The Royal Canadian Legion at Branch 182 at Thessalon, Ontario, in 1980. Since then he has held offices at the branch, zone, district and provincial level. He was elected Provincial President of Ontario Command in May 2009 and was elected as a Dominion Vice-President at the 44th Dominion Convention in Halifax in 2012.
He has been a member of the Dominion Executive Council since 2003 and has served on the Poppy and Remembrance Committee, the Sports Committee, Veterans, Service and Seniors Committee and the Focus on the Future Committee. He is now serving as the Chairman of the Sports Committee.
Comrade Pigeau was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. He holds a Life Membership in The Royal Canadian Legion and was awarded its Meritorious Service Medal in 2010.
He was married to his wife Judy, also a member of the Legion, in 1978. He opened the Quality Building and Renovations Company in 1993. The company was reorganized in 1996 and today manufactures custom cabinetry, custom furniture and custom moldings.
A member of the Masonic Lodge in Thessalon, he has served as its master and is now its treasurer. He is a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason, a member of the Mocha Shrine Temple, a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and a Past President of the Huron Shrine Club.
Comrade Michael Cook, the son of a World War II veteran, resides in Cloverdale, B.C. He is an associate member of number 6 Cloverdale Branch of British Columbia/Yukon Command of The Royal Canadian Legion. He was elected to the position of Dominion Treasurer at the 38th Dominion Convention in Halifax, N.S. in June 2000, re-elected at the June 2002 Convention in Edmonton, Alta., elected for a third term at the London, Ont., Convention in 2004, re-elected for a fourth term at the 41st Dominion Convention in Calgary, Alta., in June 2006 and was again re-elected in Ottawa in 2008. He was re-elected in Winnipeg in 2010 and once again in Halifax in 2012.
A former President of his branch, he has risen through the ranks of the former Pacific Command to become its President and a member of the Legion’s Dominion Executive Council. He has been a member of the Dominion Executive Council since 1996. His sixteen years of service at the Dominion level includes time on the 60th Anniversary, Ways and Means, Constitution and Laws and Finance Committees.
Comrade Cook was awarded a Life Membership in 1988. He has since been awarded the Legion’s Certificate of Merit and its highest honour, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Palm Leaf to that medal signifying a second award in 2001. He is a retired independent business man whose volunteer activities have included service as the Chairman of the City of Surrey Parks and Recreation, and President of the Cloverdale Board of Trade. He enjoys golfing in his spare time. He and his wife Judy have two children and two grandchildren.
Comrade Tom Irvine was elected to the position of Chairman Dominion Command in London, Ont. in June 2004, was re-elected to the position in Calgary, Alta., Ottawa, Ont. and Winnipeg, Man. He was again elected at the Dominion Convention in Halifax In 2012. He is from Montreal, Que. and is a member of the Hemmingford Branch #244 in Quebec Command.
Comrade Irvine is retired from TD Canada Trust and served more than 23 years with the Third Battalion of The Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment of Canada in his home town of Montreal. While in the service he saw active duty in the Middle East and earned the Canadian Forces Decoration.
During his 24 years with The Royal Canadian Legion he has served as a Sergeant-at-Arms, Second Vice-President and two years as President of Quebec Command Branch # 196 in Ormstown, Que. He has also served as a Vice President, Vice-Chairman and three terms as the Chairman for Quebec Command. Comrade Irvine served as provincial chairman for Membership, Leadership and Youth, Honors and Awards and Convention. He was awarded a Life Membership in 2012.
In his eight years at the dominion committee level, Comrade Irvine has served on the Membership, Poppy and Remembrance, Leadership and Development and the Sports committees. He Is currently serving on the Constitution and Laws Committee, the Finance/Budget Committee, the Dominion Convention Committee, the Focus on the Future Committee and the Membership Committee.
Comrade Irvine is a seven-time Past Master of the Argyle Elgin Lodge #7 and a Past District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Quebec A. F. and A. M. He enjoys playing golf and darts and is an avid cyclist. He is married to Paulette Cook of Bedford, Que., also a legionnaire, and they have four children.
June 2012
pat varga
Immediate Past Dominion
President
The Royal Canadian Legion
Comrade Patricia (Pat) Varga joined The Royal Canadian Legion in Saskatchewan in 1980 as an Ordinary Member following service in the Royal Canadian Navy. In June 2002 she was elected as a Dominion Vice-President at the 39th Dominion Convention held in Edmonton, Alta., was re-elected in London, Ont., in 2004. She was again elected as a Dominion Vice-President in Calgary in 2006 and at the 42nd Dominion Convention in Ottawa in 2008 she was chosen as the Dominion First Vice-President. She was acclaimed as Dominion President at the 43rd Dominion Convention in Winnipeg. She is also a dual member of number 78 Branch, Tuberculous Veterans Section Saskatoon. At the 44th Dominion Convention in Halifax she was also elected as 2nd Vice-President of the Tuberculous Veterans’ Association/Tuberculous Veterans’ Section.
She served in a variety of offices at her branch and was first elected to the executive of Saskatchewan Provincial Command in 1991 where she served as a Zone Commander, District Commander, Vice-President, and First Vice-President attaining the office of Provincial Command President in 1999 and serving there until 2001. She is a Life Member of Coleville Branch # 365, Saskatchewan Command, and is a recipient of the Legion’s Meritorious Service Medal and the Palm Leaf to it, indicating a second award.
A member of the Legion’s Dominion Executive Council for 19 years, Comrade Varga has served on the Dominion Command Poppy Committee, Membership Committee, Leadership and Development Committee and was Vice-Chair of the Public Relations Committee for four years. On her election in Edmonton she was appointed Chair of the Dominion Command Public Relations Committee and in 2004 became Chair of the Liaison Committee and a member of the Poppy and Remembrance Committee. On her election in 2006 she became Chairman of that Committee and in 2008 was chosen to Chair the Sports Committee. As Dominion President she served as Chairman of the Veterans, Services and Seniors Committee, the Royal Commonwealth Ex-services League Committee, the Focus on the Future Committee, the Dominion Convention Committee and served on numerous financial committees.She became the Immediate Past President at the 44th Dominion Convention in Halifax in 2012.
Pat has always been a volunteer, aside from the Legion. She volunteers with minor sports, the rodeo, United Way and other charitable organizations. She worked in post-secondary education for 30 years and continues to do consulting in the Human Resources field. She is a golfer and enjoys camping, sewing, reading and making Teddy Bears. She is married to Lorne and they have three daughters and four granddaughters.
The third generation of his family to serve in the military, Brad joined the Canadian Forces in 1975 under the Officer Cadet Training Program. He was posted to the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise`s), in Petawawa, Ontario, upon completion of the Armour Officer training.
Regimental duty saw Brad serve in Canada, Germany and on a United Nations tour in Cyprus. Intermixed with his regimental duty, Brad served as an instructor at the Armour School of the Combat Arms Centre in Gagetown, New Brunswick. He obtained his university degree from the University of Manitoba and completed the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College (Toronto) after returning from a three year tour in Lahr, Germany. Brad was subsequently posted to the National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa where he served on the National Joint Plans staff for three years, completed one year as the Armour Officer Career Manager and nearly two years in the Directorate of Defence Analysis.
Brad retired from the Canadian Forces in 1998 at the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel when he joined Dominion Command of The Royal Canadian Legion as an Administrative Officer. Five years later, he became the Director, Administration. Brad was part of the organizing committee for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Director of the National Remembrance Day Ceremony and organized the Dominion Conventions. Brad was appointed to his current position as the Dominion Secretary in August 2009.
Brad and his wife Thérèse are proud to call Ottawa their home after their nomadic life. Their two sons, Jonathan and Erik, are graduates from the University of Ottawa and are now serving members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Family life has always been important to the Whites including the many hours in hockey arenas, baseball fields and soccer pitches. The entire family enjoys an occasional friendly golf game and family get togethers.
