William Paul Stewart, ladies’ man, mountain man, renaissance man, died June 22, 2025 at the age of 88.

The women in his life were numerous.  He particularly fancied smart women. Paul’s love for the ladies really begins and ends with Doreen, his wife of over 50 years and partner in crime.  He joins her now in the afterlife.  Together they lived a life full of adventure and romance, travelled the world and surrounded themselves with exceptional friends and family.  With Doreen the consummate host, and Paul the life of the party the dynamic duo was a force to be reckoned with.  They were free spirits to be sure, and in the earlier years could be spotted “streaking” down the ski runs at Sunshine Village in springtime or engaging in clothing optional Bridge games on the shores of Columbia Lake.  Their passion for each other only grew stronger as the years passed.  A testament to this, at the age of 70 Paul was being admitted to the hospital to begin his battle with cancer (a battle he won) and when the attending physician asked Paul if he was on any medication…. he replied matter-of-factly “Viagra”.

Paul remains a Hero to two sons, Grant and Greg.  And while their admiration was heartfelt, the two boys were undoubtedly responsible for Paul’s premature gray hair and his chronic pains in the backside.  With that in mind, Paul could focus his love on the other ladies in his life. Grant’s incredible wife Tara and daughters Madeline and Kaitlyn, and the lovely ladies on Greg’s side, Jennifer and daughter’s Kya and Mae.  Paul took great pride in exposing his granddaughters to nature, to love cold water swimming, to select a quality hammer and to just be thankful.

Paul had a life-long love affair with the mountains, and they are the reason he left his home in Ontario to move West in 1970.  He worked hard throughout his career in sales so he could play even harder. On weekends and holidays, he could inevitably be found hiking, biking, skiing, paddling, sailing or fishing….AND the quality of each experience could be aptly gauged by the volume of his yodeling. Powder days were deafening.

Over the years Paul assembled a crew of fearless adventurers to accompany him into the great unknown.  While each backcountry adventure might be stretching today’s definition of “safe”, they always returned home…each time with bigger and better stories to regale their families, and as the stories grew larger with each telling, so too did their friendships.  Paul was most proud that both Grant and Greg inherited his sense of adventure and passion for the outdoors and accompanied him on many adventures as well.

While on the outside Paul presents as a rugged beast of a human, just below the surface is a gentle, thoughtful, caring, compassionate man.  He was a true gentleman in every sense.  When not seeking adventure, he could be found tending to his garden in Fairmont Hot Springs, swirling paint around a blank canvas or listening to old jazz records. He was indeed a renaissance man. Paul played the stand-up acoustic bass and was in a band back in the days he was courting Doreen as a young man….you could just imagine…back when his hair was brown, wearing a black suit and sunglasses and belting out on the bass some classic jazz tunes….Doreen didn’t stand a chance.  In the sunset of his musical career, Paul continued to play bass to the crowds at Columbia Garden Village where he resided, whipping the crowd into a frenzy to the very end.

Paul’s passing leaves a hole in our hearts that cannot be filled.…to honour him please don’t send flowers…just get outside, immerse yourself in nature and when it feels right …let out the loudest yodel you can.

Because of his irrational fear that his family would throw him a golf-themed funeral despite his hatred for the sport, his family will hold a celebration of life free of any type of “theme” in September.

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