Memorial service to be held on Friday for retired City parks manager Doug Daws

NEWS — A memorial service will be held Friday for a man who became a local legend in civic beautification and sports.

Doug Daws died April 2 at 93. The service will be at 1 p.m. Friday at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 360 Nicola Street.

Daws was the City’s parks manager from 1968 to 1982 and was involved in many parks projects including McArthur Island, Kenna Cartwright Park, and the Beautify Kamloops committee.

A trail in Kenna Cartwright Park is named after him. He designed the rose garden at Riverside Park and helped design the xeriscape garden on McArthur Island.

Daws helped unveil the new kiosk at the Red Bridge last November.

But his community interest went beyond parks and gardens. Daws was a member of the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions in soccer, hockey and baseball.

Other interests included the Kamloops Symphony, Ponderosa Lodge, Kiwanis and Boy Scouts organization.

Daws was also a writer, publishing several books including A Gentle Man’s Poems in 2006.

A biography by Trafford Publishing says he was born in Grantham, England, in 1920, and received his formal education in Lincoln and in Cambridge. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer reserve in July of 1940, receiving his discharge in 1946.

He immigrated to Canada and to Kamloops that year. His first wife Madge died in 2002. He and his second wife, Margaret, enjoyed successful careers with the federal government and City.

Daws was also active with the RCAF 886 Overlander Wing.

The book’s biography says he began writing poetry in his childhood and, after retirement, wrote prolifically.

A Gentle Man’s Poems, it says, describes “the profound effect on his emotions, brought about by his personal experiences in a long life, a life enriched by intimate contact with the natural world, in a career as a park manager and community environmental activist, an intimacy with butterflies and meadowlarks, of squirrels and wildflowers, of forests and rivers.

“All of which he truly believes, is a wonderful gift of his God, a gift of a most generous nature. Of further inspiration, has been in world-wide travel, the mystery and wonders found in foreign lands, and the love of family and friends.”