Brian, 1958 (son of Margaret Nelson Cowie Dolan)
Brian has always been an avid sportsman. He played minor sports throughout his younger years in Peterborough and was a member of a number of provincial championship teams in both hockey and lacrosse. At the Junior A and Senior levels he also played for Minto Cup finalists and was a part of the 1978 Canadian Mann Cup Red Oak Lacrosse Champions.
Brian has had an interesting and varied career. After attending St. Peter’s High School he went on to get a B.Sc.(AGR) degree at the University of Guelph in 1981. While studying at university he worked summers at Serpent Mounds working his way from maintenance to security and to Assistant Superintendent. His summer job and school led into his first fulltime position with Parks Canada and after a couple of years traveling under a parks management training position, he settled in Manitoba at Riding Mountain National Park and worked as a Park Warden. During his experience there he had opportunity to work in Wood Buffalo National Park near Fort Smith, NWT where he trained in forest fire fighting, but the tagging/studding of black bears and the horse patrols in the backcountry were always his favorites.
In 1985, he changed his career and trained at “Depot” in Regina, Saskatchewan as a RCMP recruit. Following graduation from depot, he was posted to Wadena, Saskatchewan for three years. Brian and his wife Ellen decided to return to Ontario in 1988, so their three children at the time would grow up with family around. Brian continued his policing career in Ontario by joining the York Regional Police and worked in a uniform car in Markham. Brian then joined the First Nations Police on Georgina Island in 1992 where he and his family had the experience of crossing two miles of water to get home, to the store or school – something of an adventure each spring and fall at freeze up or melt down as he drove cars across the ice or boated. As a first response rescuer for incidents on Lake Simcoe the slower pace of the Island had its days. Brian returned to the York Region Police in 1998. However, Brian had also begun to study law at the University of Toronto while on the Island. He studied while working full time and finally after six years of half time school, in June of 2000 he graduated with a Juris Doctor degree. After completing the Bar Admission Course of the Law Society of Upper Canada he received his call to the Bar in March, 2001. Now qualified as a lawyer, he works with the York Region Investigative Services Branch where he provides legal advice to the homicide, morality, child abuse, sexual assault and other major crime units in the police service.
Brian continues to play hockey and enjoys coaching and refereeing.
Brian and Ellen (Donnelly),1961 were married in 1980. Ellen is an accomplished artist and her paintings are currently on display at Whetungs Arts Gallery, Buckingham’s Fine Arts in Uxbridge and Gallery Indigenous in Stratford.
Brian and Ellen live in Pefferlaw and have six children:
- Robert Brian Boyd, 1981
- Trisha Lynn, 1983
- Katelyn Rose, 1985
- Justin James, 1988
- Ryan Timothy, 1988
- Elora Danan Grace, 1991
