John McIlwraith (died 30 June 2006) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

humorist, radio broadcaster, newspaper columnist, and commentator.

Early life and career

McIlwraith was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but moved to Vancouver,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

as a young adult. His jobs included working as a coal-stoker on a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

operated by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. McIlwraith hosted a morning radio program in Seattle and wrote columns for newspapers and magazines. From 1990 to 2001, he recorded commentaries for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. After

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

announced that it would begin offering a degree in the playing of

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

, McIlwraith commented that the bagpipe was created as an instrument of war, and should not be treated as a musical instrument. McIlwraith said: After each commentary, the ''All Things Considered'' host noted that McIlwraith lived on a

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a Berth (moorings), berth, and often tethered to ...

in San Diego, California. Other commentaries by McIlwraith include: * "Doing It in the Closet" (20 December 2007): part of ''Tinsel Tales'', a series of Christmas stories * "Jesse the Incorrigible: My Grandson" (30 December 1997): recounting his experiences with a grandson suffering from

attention deficit disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

* "A Party for an Endangered Organ" (27 March 2001): recorded just before undergoing surgery for stomach cancer He was married twice, to Bridie and then to Dixie. He had four children. McIlwraith's death resulted from complications arising from

dementia with Lewy bodies Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a type of dementia characterized by changes in sleep, behavior change (individual), behavior, cognition, movement, and dysautonomia, regulation of automatic bodily functions. Unlike some other dementias, mem ...

. Years after McIlwraith's death, his brother-in-law wrote a column for the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

'' questioning whether McIlwraith's stories were strictly factual.

References

* https://www.npr.org/2006/07/03/5531049/remembering-john-mcilwraith-a-scottish-wit * https://www.npr.org/transcripts/5531049 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcilwraith, John 2006 deaths Canadian radio personalities Scottish emigrants to Canada Year of birth missing