Douglas Knowles, QC, passed away suddenly on November 8, 2008. He is survived by his loving wife Denise, daughters Alexandra and Jessica, and sons Joshua (Kate) and Ian. Douglas was an active and devoted member of the legal community. He was a thoughtful and generous man who brought great integrity to all aspects of his life, he will be greatly missed.

Douglas began practising in British Columbia in 1980 after moving from California, where he obtained his law degree from the University of California in 1972. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2001 and was recognized as one of Canada's leading business lawyers in the area of insolvency and corporate restructuring. Douglas was a partner in the Vancouver office of the law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP and chaired the firm's national restructuring practice. He had more than 30 years of experience acting for Canadian and international companies in various judicial and non-judicial restructurings. He was a member of the Canadian Bar Association for 33 years.

In April 2008, Douglas was appointed by the federal government to serve on the board of directors of Ridley Terminals Inc., a federal Crown corporation that operates an automated coal port in Prince Rupert. The board elected him as corporate secretary. He previously served on the board of directors of Ballet BC and the BC Lions Society for Children With Disabilities.

In 2008, he was ranked by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as one of Canada's leading lawyers in the area of insolvency and financial restructuring and was also recognized in the Chambers 2008 Guide to the World's Leading Business Lawyers and was listed in the 2008 Who's Who Legal.

A Celebration of his life will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at Mulgrave School, 2330 Cypress Lane in West Vancouver. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be greatly appreciated.

[posted November 12, 2008]