William N. (Bill) Papove

Bill Papove Sr, father of BCLS Bill, Jr, was born on a farm in Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan on March 25th, 1913 and died at home in Belcarra on April 13th, 2000. Bill attended rural schools in Saskatchewan as well as completed a civil engineering degree in 1933 at the age of 20 from the University of Saskatchewan.

Bill received his commission as a British Columbia Land Surveyor in May 1941, his DLS (now CLS) in March 1945, and his Alberta Land Surveyor's commission #143 on February 27, 1946. Bill also qualified as a professional engineer in BC in 1945 and, as well, in the State of Washington in 1968.

His early career involved work for the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company-Cominco-in Trail and on hydro-electric power development in BC, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. He completed a major survey of the northern section of the Alaska Highway, was involved in the BC-Alberta and Territories boundary surveys, the land settlement surveys of the Doukobour lands in the Kootenays, was in his own private practice in Vancouver until 1955 and then he entered into a full partnership with the McElhanney organization until his eventual retirement in 1975.

He was heavily involved in the international operations of the Surveying and Mapping consulting group of McElhanney, as well as appointed the chief surveyor for the Meekong River mapping project undertaken in the early 1960s. Bill Papove was involved as a member of various consulting missions to South America and Africa on behalf of the Canadian federal government and United Nations agencies, has been a chairman of the Canadian Doukobour Society and other historic peace groups. He even found time to be on the advisory planning commission for the Village of Belcarra, as well as serving on the BCLS Board of Management from 1956 to 1961, president in 1960 and elected to the status of life membership in the Corporation of BC Land Surveyors in 1978. He served as the chairman of the Surveying Advisory Committee in the early 1970s at the formation of BCIT in Burnaby.

As well, in the late 1980s in memory of his wife Anna, who died in 1986, Bill made a donation to the BC Land Surveyors' library and was the initial benefactor for the formation of the BC Land Surveyors' charitable trust which was chartered in 1989. Bill was still sitting as honorary chairman to the trust at the time of his passing.

William N. Papove, once on a task never seemed to waiver in his dedication, for all of his 87 years.

Corp. Of Land Surveyors Of The Province Of British Columbia