Paul Desmond Burrows

Paul Desmond Burrows was born in York, England on April 7, 1937 to Dr. John Desmond Burrows and Nancy Burrows, a nurse and writer. He passed away in Salmon Arm on March 10, 2023 at age 85.

After the war, his father took Paul and his brother, John, to Rhodesia. Paul later studied medicine at Cape Town University, where his mischievous antics came at the cost of his academic achievement.  He then decided to become a printer and attended the London School of Printing.

Paul emigrated to Canada with £42 in his pocket and a letter from the Graphic Arts Union. In 1962 he found himself in Vancouver with a well-paying job and a group of friends who were avid skiers. Next thing he knew he was living in a trailer at Alta Lake, in charge of the pro ski patrol! 

There he met his lifelong partner Doris Jane Archer and built his first ski cabin 1969. Paul and Jane were married in a memorable ceremony at the Medieval Inn in Gastown, Vancouver on August 24, 1971. Jane taught in Britannia Beach, Pemberton, Alta Lake and in Whistler, after it was incorporated in 1975.

He and Jane started the weekly Whistler Question in the basement of their A-frame cabin and Paul was later elected to council for six years. The couple amassed an amazing 61 cruises from 1977 to 2015, plus two Grand Voyages, one around N. America, and the other around western Europe as well as exchanging many weeks of timeshare exchanges in Mexico, USA, Europe, and Africa. 

When Whistler became more of a party town and less of a place to grow old in, Paul and Jane made the big decision to move to Salmon Arm in 2000, where they had designed and built a dream home overlooking Shuswap Lake. Jane was diagnosed with Familial AD in 2012, and they moved into Lakeside Manor.  As her AD progressed, Paul took on the role as primary caregiver until her passing in 2018.

Paul was pre-deceased by his mother and stepfather in Ireland, his father and step-mother in South Africa, his life partner in Salmon Arm, his brother and sister-in-law in Tomball TX. He is survived by his nephew JD (Angie) and his three grown children in Magnolia TX, his nephew Des (Stacie) and their two, in Topanga CA, his half-sister Caroline and her family in Wales, his stepsister Sarah in Norfolk, UK, plus numerous cousins in central and south Africa, Zimbabwe, Ireland, UK, New Zealand, and Australia.

He will always be remembered as an outspoken and well-spoken entertainer, seldom at a loss for words.  With his favourite 12 string guitar, he was always up for a few verses of the Wild West Show or another of his well-oiled bawdy rugby songs.

A Celebration of Life will take place in Salmon Arm at the First United Church on May 6, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice or to Shuswap Community Foundation (shuswapfoundation.ca) for the Paul & Jane Burrows Endowment Fund.

Another Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at 2:00 pm (PT) in the Millar Room at the Myrtle Philip Community Centre, 6195 Lorimer Rd, Whistler, BC.