James Norman Bowersock

May 15, 1935 – January 11, 2023

Surrounded by his loving family, James (Jim) Bowersock passed away peacefully on January 11, 2023 at his home in Berwick on the Park in Kamloops, B.C.  Jim was the fourth of five boys born to Nellie and Bruce Bowersock and grew up in Pincher Creek, Alberta.

Jim is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Evelyn Frances Bowersock.  They met in Edmonton, Alberta while Jim was in his second year of Chemical Engineering at the University of Alberta and Evelyn was a nurse in training.  Along with a large family of cousins, nieces and nephews from his Southern Alberta roots, Jim also leaves behind a loving and grateful family including sons Larry Bowersock (predeceased by his loving wife Oonagh), Doug (Colleen) Bowersock and daughter Dianne (Harold) Dreyer.   Jim had an incredible influence on his grandchildren, Ryan (Kelsea) Bowersock, Danielle (Grant McMahon) Bowersock, David (Ashley) Bowersock, Corey (Sara) Thompson, and Scott (Stacey) Thompson.  His great grandchildren, Elise, Connor, Ronan, Elizabeth and Abigail provided him with much laughter and joy in his final years.

Jim grew up on a farm in Pincher Creek and was the first of his family to attend University.  He was an avid athlete who excelled at baseball but eventually fell in love with golf, a sport which formed many long-term friendships and family connections.  After marrying, Jim and Evelyn moved to Hinton, Alberta where they raised their family and Jim grew his career in the Pulp and Paper industry.   They lived there for 15 years before moving to Kamloops in 1971 where he took on the Mill Manager role at Weyerhaeuser’s Kamloops Pulp Mill.  His career flourished taking him back to Hinton, then on to New York as a SR Vice President of St. Regis Paper Company.  Later moves took him to Edmunston, NB as the President of Fraser Paper Company and finally to Montreal where he finished his career as the President and COO of Repap Paper Company.  Jim was the first recipient of the Howard Hart Award for Excellence from the Canadian Pulp & Paper Association for ‘outstanding achievements in the Pulp & Paper industry’.  He garnered great respect from everyone he worked with throughout his career. 

Upon retirement, Jim and Evelyn returned to Kamloops where they became members at Rivershore Golf Club and continued to grow and enjoy a robust social life.  For over 24 years, they wintered at Tonto Verde, Arizona where they built a strong community of friends.  Jim also became a member in a fishing camp at Skitchine Lake in the interior of B.C., another location which allowed him to foster his love for fishing and generated many fond family memories. 

Jim graced our world with an incredible amount of love, passion, energy, humour, and stature right to his last moments and he leaves a huge footprint on everyone’s heart who ever had the privilege of knowing him.  His storytelling abilities were legendary and will be sorely missed.

The family would like to thank the oncologists, doctors and all the medical staff from Kamloops and Kelowna who supported him through his battle with cancer and the thoughtful and kind people from Berwick on the Park.

A private family celebration will be held in early summer to honour Jim’s wonderful and full life.   In lieu of flowers, Jim’s wish was for donations to be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or the charity of your choice.

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