REVEREND CANON PAUL WILFRID LEE SMITH

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REVEREND CANON PAUL WILFRID LEE SMITH October 12, 1928 - March 26, 2015. It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the Reverend Canon Paul Wilfrid Lee Smith. He was 86 years old and was a man who glowed with joy. Paul was born in Minnedosa, Manitoba on October 12, 1928. He was the son of Reverend Canon Nelson Smith and Mary Edna Lee Smith. In September of 1938, when Paul entered the second grade, he met Shirley Palmer for the very first time. Little did he know he would marry Shirley in 1957 and they would spend 56 years, and the rest of his life, happily married. It is indicative of their relationship that the only word he spoke between the accident and his death was Shirley. Following his high school graduation, Paul moved to Birtle and Brandon Manitoba to teach. He would return to Winnipeg to attend St. John's College where he would graduate in 1958 with degrees in Theology and Arts. Paul was ordained a Deacon in Winnipeg at St. Jude's Anglican Church. In 1957, he was ordained a priest at St. Matthew's Anglican Cathedral in Brandon. He was curate at St. Matthew's Anglican Cathedral and in charge of St. Agnes Anglican Church in Carberry. Paul and his wife Shirley moved to Flin Flon in September of 1958 where he was the priest in charge of St. Peter's Anglican Church. In 1963, he became rector of Christ Church Selkirk and in 1970 he was appointed rector of St. James Anglican Church in Winnipeg. In 1983, Paul was appointed rector of St. Steven's Anglican Church in Winnipeg, where he would serve until his retirement in December of 1993. Following his retirement, Paul and his wife travelled extensively. From coast to coast to coast, from Newfoundland to Vancouver to Alaska, in their truck and trailer they made many memories together. Leaving the trailer behind, they began to travel outside of Canada. Unstoppable, they were still travelling up until two weeks before Paul died. The locations they flew to, walked upon, and sailed over seemed limitless: Great Britain, France, Greece, Turkey, Holland, all the countries along the Danube, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, China and the Caribbean were some of their destinations. They travelled through the Panama Canal and went down the southern coast of South America and saw Brazil, Argentina and the Falkland Islands. Paul's passport tells the story of a world traveler in colourful country stamps. In retirement, Paul lived out his passion for woodworking. He made his first table at age 16 and finished a beautiful deacon's bench a few days before he died. His creations were as beautiful as they were varied. He made jewelry boxes, ash boxes, chairs, garden furniture, tree houses, stools, window boxes, and lazy susans. If you pick up one of the wooden numbers that mark the dinner tables at his retirement home, you will see that they are signed Paul Smith. Paul cultivated his passion for literature into his retirement, whether he was laughing through Alexander McCall Smith or polishing off The Life Story of Winston Churchill. He also had a deep love of classical music. His other passion remained the church. Paul formally retired but he never stopped working. He was an honorary assistant at St. Paul's Anglican Church and was committed to bible study. Family was very important to Paul. Beginning in 1960, he and Shirley began to grow their family of two sons, Robin (wife Lorraine), Peter (wife Terry) and two daughters, Lee-Anna, and Suzanne (wife Debbi). They have been blessed with five grandchildren, Amyanne, Stephan, Lee, Camille, and Simone. Paul was predeceased by his brother Charles Boulton. He will be greatly missed by his wife, Shirley, all of his children and grandchildren, his sister Nancy Lynch and family, his niece Pamla Boulton and other nieces and nephews. Paul has gone to his creator whom he loved and followed all of his life. Special thanks to the Portsmouth Retirement Living team and residents for their support. A service of thanksgiving will be held on Friday, April 17, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at St. John's Anglican Cathedral, 135 Anderson Ave with reception to follow. Interment at St. George's Anglican Church Wakefield. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (pwrdf.org/give/) or to St. John's College (umanitoba.ca/admin/dev_adv/howtogive/donation) NEIL BARDAL FUNERAL CENTRE 204-949-2200 neilbardalinc.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 11, 2015