Daniel Lownie Thorburn

Dan had a smile that would light up your heart. He was a motorcyclist, hiker, fisher, camper, snowshoer, Queen Scout, photographer, lifeguard, music lover, lifelong friend, bass guitarist, community builder, investor, mentor, son, brother, husband, father and grandfather.

Dan left us on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at age 78. Remembering Dan with great love are his wife and partner-in-all-things, Shelley Sopher; son Ben Thorburn (Amelia); siblings Nancy Rowe, Bruce Thorburn, John Thorburn (Ann), and Janie Kirk (David); granddaughter Cora Simone Thorburn; many beloved nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews; cousin George Duncan, Scotland; companions and friends over the past four years, Mark and Maria; and many more friends across Canada. Dan was predeceased by his parents, Don and Doris; brother, Jim; brother-in law, Reg; sisters-in-law, Pat and Joyce; and nephew, Ken.

Dan was born in Hamilton, Ontario to Doris Annie Owen and Donald Hugh Duncan Thorburn. He grew up in Waterdown, a small town close to Hamilton, and spent his teen years in the thrall of rock and roll playing bass guitar with his friends in The Outcasts. After motorcycling around Europe for months Dan returned to Ontario to attend Sheridan College. He brought his helmet back on the plane and the stewardess quipped, “Expecting a rough flight, sir?” At Sheridan Dan began studying computer science but after meeting students in the visual arts programs discovered that his real passion was for photography. Two of those students, Lyle Docherty and Hugh Wesley, became Dan’s life-long friends.

After graduation Dan worked at the University of Guelph in the audio-visual department. He especially enjoyed photographing the horses, cows and pigs in the Agricultural and Veterinary Colleges, and on canoe trips to Algonquin Park with Outdoor Education classes. In 1975 Dan married his high-school sweetheart Sharon Mohring and promptly moved to Halifax to continue to study photography at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. After returning to Hamilton, Dan worked as a preparator at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

In late 1979 Dan’s only child, Donald Ben, was born and in 1980 the family moved to Saskatoon where Dan began work as Co-ordinator/Curator at The Photographers Gallery. For six years Dan worked with photographers from across Canada and other countries, moved the gallery to a larger space and helped design it. From there it was a move even further west to Banff where Dan began work as Manager, Visual and Media Arts at The Banff Centre. It was in Banff that Dan met his good friend and fishing partner, Terry Findley, spending time fishing after work and on weekends year-round, fishing at favourite spots in the valley. Often accompanying them would be Bubba, the family’s beloved dog, who loved to ride in the canoe. Dan spent more than fifteen years at The Banff Centre with his last couple of years working in Leadership Development after completing his Masters Degree in Continuing Education at the University of Calgary.

After his marriage ended, Dan decided to move to Calgary in 2000 and began work on a PhD. It was then he had an opportunity to work at The Calgary Foundation as Vice-President, Granting and Community Engagement. The work with many different community groups in all sectors both within Calgary and further afield was deeply satisfying and rewarding to Dan. One of Dan’s achievements was envisioning a community arts space in the underused King Edward School kitty-corner from our condo in Calgary’s Marda Loop community and helping to make it a reality – cSpace. Dan also enjoyed teaching, whether it was photography at the Dundas Valley School of Art and in Prince Albert through the University of Saskatchewan Extension Division, or non-profit organization management at Mount Royal University.

In 2004 on a holiday trip to visit friends in Regina Dan made plans to canoe with Shelley Sopher, a former work colleague. Sparks flew and after countless hours of phone conversations and Calgary/Regina/Calgary flights Shelley moved to Calgary to join Dan and pursue a life together. He and Shelley had many joyful years together, before and after finally being married at Pilot Pond in Banff National Park in 2011. There were winter holidays at Baker Creek, canoe tripping in northern Saskatchewan, kayaking and snorkeling in Belize and Hawaii, searching for ancestral homes in Scotland and Czechia, spending time in London, Dan’s favourite city (even before Ben moved there), visiting Ben in Australia, walking the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and Hadian’s Way in the UK, and every spring, summer and fall canoeing, fishing and berry picking at Lesser Slave Lake.

After retiring Dan wanted to move back to the Bow Valley so in late 2017, he and Shelley bought a house in Canmore close to John and Ann, and also to Dan’s niece Andrea and family, and nephew Chris and family in Banff. When Dan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he became a great supporter of the Parkinson Association of Alberta and he and Shelley attended their annual conferences as well as the monthly support groups in Canmore. When a medical emergency took away Dan’s ability to walk, he moved to Chinook Care Centre in Calgary where Shelley was able to find a condo immediately next door. After room was available at Golden Eagle View LTC in late 2023, Dan and Shelley were able to move back to Canmore. Throughout his entire life, even living with illness, Dan was a kind, positive and happy person.

Dan continued his love of music with programs run by staff and volunteers, celebrated birthdays with his favourite apple pie and ice cream, watched CFL football and visited with friends and family from near and far, and former work colleagues. With his power wheelchair Dan and Shelley were able to go for long jaunts on the pathway system to River Park, Sandy Beach and along the Glenmore Reservoir to Weaselhead Flats. And in Canmore all around town, Policeman’s Creek, the Spurline Trail and the Engine Bridge.

An infection in late November 2025 hit Dan hard. His final three weeks were spent in Acute Care at Canmore General Hospital, his room decorated with Christmas lights, filled with music as well as laughter, quiet words and tears from his many visitors. Ben and Shelley were with Dan constantly, sharing stories, reading to him or sitting quietly. Dan died surrounded by so much love and caring from his family, friends and hospital staff. Even in his last week Dan could flash his brilliant smile.

In 2020 when Dan found out he was going to be a grandfather a good friend gave him a Grandfather’s Journal in which to write his memories and stories of his life. He filled almost 100 pages. One sentence he wrote sums it up, “I had a really interesting life – it was a treat!”

A celebration of Dan’s life will be held in the summer.

If you wish, in Dan’s memory, you could make a donation to the Parkinson Association of Alberta, the Canmore Hospital Foundation or the Nana Fund, an environmental fund for the Eastern slopes, which Dan began at The Calgary Foundation.