Don's favourite time of day was the morning, whether it be for fresh tracks on the ski hill in the winter, duck hunting with the guys on a crisp fall morning, getting to the office before the phones started to ring, or simply puttering around while the world was still. He chose the beautiful fall morning of Sunday, October 13th to slip away from us.

He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather and leaves behind his beloved wife Anne, children Bruce (Jeannie), Sandra (Jay Wollenberg), Linda Blanchet (Paul), Bob (Lori), and grandchildren Stuart (Amber), David, Jennifer, ZoÎ (Justin), Kurtis (Kaitlyn), Rowan, Matt, and Monique.

Don was the first-born child of Ruth and Watson (Watty) Munro who lived in Albert Canyon where Watty worked as a CPR engineer pushing trains over the Rockies. There was no hospital in Albert Canyon, so for Don's birth Ruth and Watty travelled to Victoria where Ruth's family lived. Ruth made a special note in his baby book that Donald's ride home from the hospital on September 17th was "by auto". Don spent his first 14 years in Albert Canyon and Revelstoke where his life-long love of the mountains and outdoors took root. He learned to ski and ski-jump from locals of Swiss and Austrian origin. In 1937, the family moved to Kamloops where he developed a strong love of the interior grasslands and forests. It was there he honed his skills as a marksman hunting pheasants, grouse, chukars, and ducks. Don graduated from Kamloops Secondary School, the same high school his children later attended.

After high school Don enlisted with the Canadian Army. Most of his service during WWII was spent as a sergeant teaching recruits to shoot. When the War ended, Don resumed his education and graduated from UBC's Faculty of Forestry in 1951.

Don met Anne in a cafeteria at UBC when, in the midst of a food fight with pals, he accidentally struck her in the head with a potato. Anne, who had already noticed the good-looking, fun-loving Don, soon worked her magic to arrange a blind date - and he was hooked. They married in Trail in 1952 and settled in Nelson where Don began his career as a forester. Their first two children (Bruce and Sandra) were born in Nelson and in 1956 they moved to Kamloops where children Linda and Robert (Bob) were born.

As a registered forester Don pioneered industrial forestry in the interior of BC. He contributed significantly to forest development, pulp mill raw material supply, and transportation systems. He initiated the export of surplus chips from the southern interior and served for many years on several industry committees. The Association of BC Forest Professionals awarded Don a Life Membership - a special honour given to individuals who have made an exemplary contribution to the profession of forestry.

Don was generous with his time and over the years served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Kamloops Golf & Country Club, President of the Kamloops Trap and Skeet Club (which his father Watty had helped start in the 1940's), on the Royal Inland Hospital Board, and later on the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation Board.

From the standpoint of ski enthusiasts, Don's most welcome achievement was the creation of Tod Mountain (now Sun Peaks). He and a small circle of friends were visionaries who recognized the mountain's potential as a ski hill. They planned it, built it, and got it going by 1961. Don was the first President of Tod Mountain and took the inaugural ride to open the "longest double chairlift in North America" then known as "the chairlift". It was later renamed "the Burfield Chair" when local sport shop owner Harry Burfield tragically died in a plane crash near Tod. Don taught his kids and grandkids to ski and spent many happy years putting down tracks in the mountain's famous champagne powder.

There will be a Celebration of Don's life on Saturday, October 26th, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. at the Kamloops Funeral Home (285 Fortune Drive Kamloops, B.C.).

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer's Society of BC or the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation would be appreciated.

Arrangements entrusted to
Kamloops Funeral Home
250-554-2577
Condolences may be sent
to the family from
www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com