Donald James Baird Shore

This was Don Shore’s message to all of us when he left us in his 90th year on March 1, 2022. Born in Vancouver in 1932, Don was the cherished baby of a family of teachers. His father, JWB(Tubby) Shore wrote the science text book for BC schools and mother Jean(Ramsey) Shore came to Vancouver after being head of girls physical education in Calgary. Young Donald’s early life was spent driving to Alberta to visit relatives and fighting with his older sister Mary who would become his very best friend.

Point Grey Junior and Lord Byng Senior High Schools introduced him to sports and lifelong friends. He was an elite athlete with prowess in skiing, both alpine and nordic with the Vancouver Ski Club(Viski). His medals at the Canadian championships in the 1950’s defined his dedication to becoming the best you can be. That said, his skiing took precedence over academics and he scraped through graduation. His father died the summer he was 15 while he was working on the railroad. He worked every summer from then on and the characters he met at Pioneer and Premier mines filled his stories for the rest of his years.

He finally put his head down and got into UBC, where he excelled at sports and student life. His love of sport led him to his favourite job - high school Physical education teacher. He played on the UBC Thunderbird rugby team for 5 winning seasons under the tutelage of renowned coach and friend Max Howell who said Don was one of the best. In the summers during university, Don began his lifelong relationship with the Red Cross instructing Water Safety to swim instructors all over the province.

After graduation Don married Linda (Shier) and moved to Nanaimo with their two daughters, Debbie and Marnie, to begin what became his dream job for over 30 years, teaching Physical Education and Community Recreation at Nanaimo District High school. He was instrumental in starting the BC High school Wrestling program in the province and sent wrestlers from Nanaimo to national and international championships. The family house was often filled with visiting teams from as far away as Japan. He

introduced thousands of teenagers to outdoor recreation and lifetime sports. Decades of taking students down the West Coast trail created generations of students that loved the outdoors as much as he did and “Shore’s Survival Dance technique” helped many fake their way through their first formal dance. Students loved ‘Sugar Bear’.

Don and Linda started the Nanaimo Swim Club, forbearer of the Nanaimo Rapids. Summers were measured in time trials and swim meets. It was during this time he discovered sailing. He had always loved being on the water since his job working on the Alaska Prince, a small coastal freighter that worked up and down the inside passage. His new dream was to sail the world with his family and like everything he was interested in, Don approached this with a singular passion. His first boat that he built was ferro cement. His focus was boating and his family was less enthusiastic.

As a single father of teen girls, Don revisited his love of skiing and he made sure Debbie and Marnie could ski. Weekends were spent at the Green Mountain Ski Club.

He met Pat(Sostad) and they both enjoyed sailing and skiing. They bought a small sailboat, and christened her the Bonnie Jean, after his mother. A bigger boat and offshore sailing became the dream so they built the Eventyr. Son Jim was born and Don dreamed again of sailing away with his family. Finances got in the way of this dream and Eventyr was sold. After some planning Don decided the best boat for his adventure would be steel. After three boats in driveways, Don was single again and when the

steel arrived for boat number four, Don learned to weld.

His true love was this boat. She became his life and breath during his retirement. His friends surrounded him with daily and weekly work parties (many parties) getting her welded together, welds ground, interior built, and painted. She was launched on Valentines day. Her name was Viski, after the V-Ski club that was such a large part of his youth. Viski took him around the world. Crew members who joined him along the voyage became good friends. When Jim joined him on the leg from Hawaii to Fiji his dream of sailing away with family finally came true. Arriving back in Canada, Don lived aboard Viski and spent time exploring the local waters between Haida Gwaii and Seattle with boatloads of grandchildren, family and friends. As much as he loved a party, he truly cherished his solitude.

Though he was still 19 at heart, his heart wasn’t. In February his doctors gave him the options of unsuccessful surgery or palliative comfort waiting for his heart to stop. He chose neither and opted for Medical Assistance in Dying but not until he had a party, where his friends and family could join him in one last celebration. So an ‘awake’ wake was held at the Kin Hut, looking out at Departure Bay with 70 of his nearest and dearest. Beside him at the end were Debbie, Marnie and Jim, sharing one last scotch

and quite a few last stories. Don is survived by his grandchildren Zoe, Callum, Quinlan, Eric, Elly, Eva and Eloise, children Debbie(Albert), Marnie(Jim) and Jim. We all loved him, we all said good bye and when he finished his scotch, the ferry left, and so did he.