Zakora, Paul

Born in Czechoslovakia in the days of the Iron Curtain, Paul dreamed of going to Canada. He read everything he could about Canada. In 1983, Paul escaped with his wife and two children. After a brief sojourn in Austria, they came to Canada as refugees, landing in Ontario.
From Ontario, they came to B.C., finally making their home in Princeton, where they settled down and raised their family.
Paul loved the outdoors, the natural world. He became involved in Boy Scouts and took youngsters on excursions into the hills and forests, teaching them about plants and animals and birds. He was an ardent birder.
A camera went with him into the forests and mountains ,and he became a skilled photographer of wildlife. He met Jeff Turner, a man who filmed wildlife, and they teamed up for wildlife projects like Turner’s first major project – the Kermody bears (Spirit Bears) of the northern B.C. coast. Paul accompanied Turner to Alaska, Chile, and to eastern Russia on the Kamchatka Peninsula, to film Kodiak bears.
For many years, as a member of the Museum Society, he shared his experience and many of his personal possessions with the museum for the purpose of adding to the public’s knowledge of our natural world.
After a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, he succumbed on October 27, 2023. We extend our sympathy to his wife, Eva, their children and grandchildren. Those who knew him and worked with him share their loss. Paul was a man to be remembered.