DEMERS, ARTHUR ALEXANDER STEWART (1887-1931)
DEMERS, ARTHUR ALEXANDER STEWART, grocer and police magistrate; b. Newcastle, 2 Jul 1887, s/o Joseph Demers and Susan Jardine; m. 1921, Octavia Florence Murdoch, d/o John D. Murdoch and Eliza Wall, of Lower Napan; d. Newcastle, 17 Feb 1931.
A. A. Stewart Demers was educated at Harkins Academy and Loyola College in Montreal. He took a position with the Royal Bank of Canada in 1906 and had postings in Vancouver and elsewhere. Prior to his marriage he resigned from the bank to come home and take over management of the family grocery business from his mother.
In 1924, upon the death of J. Rogers Lawlor, Demers was appointed police magistrate for Newcastle. He occupied this position until his death in 1931, at age forty-three. A sports enthusiast, he served as president of the Newcastle baseball and curling clubs. He was also active in the Knights of Columbus. He and his wife, Octavia F. Murdoch, were the parents of six children. A son, Joseph E. Demers, was a career employee of the Post Office Department who served terms as postmaster at both Chatham (1975-76) and Newcastle (1976-81).
Sources
[b] church records [m] Advocate 18 Jan 1921 [d] Leader 20 Feb 1931 / Advance 14 Jun 1894 (re. Eliza Murdoch, née Wall); Advocate 24 Jun 1924; News 27 May 1981