Former city councillor and longtime Burnaby resident Doug Evans passed away Thursday, Jan. 9. He was 84.
Evans was a Burnaby city councillor from 1990 to 2005, past president of the Vancouver local of the International Woodworkers Association and past president of the Vancouver and District Labour Council.
Evans had Alzheimer's disease and had been in care at Normanna, a Burnaby seniors' home, but died in hospital after he developed an infection. The NOW reported on Evans' plight in 2012, after his family came forward with complaints about the care he received while in Burnaby Hospital, where he contracted C. difficile.
Evans lived in Burnaby most of his life and was a major figure in the labour movement. At 17, he started working in the plywood industry. He later got involved in the union, working his way up to president of IWA Local 1-217 in Vancouver, the biggest branch in B.C.
Evans was a main organizer in the 1986 forestry strike and worked alongside Syd Thompson and Jack Munro, other big players in the labour movement.
Burnaby school trustee Gary Wong worked with Evans on the union's executive for 10 years.
"He was notable figure. With 8,000 members (and) being the largest local, he could command quite a bit of attention from the industry. Whenever he spoke, people would sit up and take notice," Wong said. "A lot of people have a hell of a lot of respect for Doug."
Evans retired from forestry in 1990 and was elected to Burnaby city council. He worked on several committees - transportation, traffic and safety, and emergency planning, to name a few. In 1995, he chaired the new community policing committee, which was just a pilot project then and a new concept for Canada.
Evans held office till 2005, when he retired from politics to spend more time with family.
Evans was named a freeman by the City of Burnaby, a title that honours citizens for exceptional contributions to their community.
Evans' daughter Diane recalls her father working all the time.
"As kids, we remember one of the favourite things he loved to do was to take us for drives to the sawmills so he could see what was going on, keeping in touch with the mill workers," she said.
Diane would like her father to be remembered for helping others.
"He was always really happy to help people. As an IWA leader, he fought for the working man for his whole life," she said.
Burnaby city councillor Nick Volkow described Evans as a "good man."
"He brought a lot of really good working class sensibility and trade union values to his role as city councillor," Volkow told the NOW. "He was pretty in touch with regular folks. As trite as it sounds, he never forgot where he came from."
Evans is survived by his wife, three daughters and five sons, and several grandchildren.
Evans' family is planning a memorial in February that will be open to the public, but the exact date and location haven't been set.
