Edourd Lavallee was born March 17, 1926 at Reed Lake, MB. He was one of 11 children. When he was two years old, his family moved to Pine Bluff, MB. His family fished, trapped, and tended cattle and other animals. Edourd’s father was a World War I veteran. At the age of eight or nine, Edourd began trapping with his father. At the age of ten, while he continued trapping, he attended school in Pine Bluff, which was built by his father. He worked construction and maintenance part-time with the government when he was 16 years old. In 1945, Edourd married Helen Fourre, who worked at the sanatorium in St. Boniface with one of Edourd’s sisters. His 19-year-old brother was shipped overseas for the Second World War and returned badly wounded, while Edourd was not assigned until the end and remained in Canada. After his mother died in the 1950s, he moved from Pine Bluff to The Pas in 1955 so that his children could attend school. He worked for the Town of The Pas for 12 years and worked for the government for 22 years. Edourd and his father and brothers had their own dog racing teams.