May 13, 1920 – July 14, 2015
The Creative Writing Program mourns the loss of Doug Bankson, Professor Emeritus, former Head, playwright, mentor, scuptor and sailor. Doug was born in Valley, Washington on May 13, 1920 and lived his earliest years in Spokane. As an undergraduate at the University of Washington he met and married Beverly Carlson of Tacoma before serving in the US Navy as an Executive Officer on Subchasers in both the European and Pacific war zones (1943-1946). After the war he returned to Seattle and while achieving his M.A. and PhD English he worked in journalism, advertising, public relations and construction and began his lifelong commitment to storytelling. Following teaching positions at the Universities of Idaho and Montana he joined UBC Creative Writing in 1965, serving as Head from 1977-1983, and retiring in 1985.
At UBC, Prof. Bankson mentored many of Canada’s stellar literary artists including playwright Daniel David Moses, documentary filmmaker Nettie Wild, Governor General award-winning playwright Morris Panych, playwright, screen and television writer Dennis Foon, and Kico Gonzalez-Risso.
He co-founded The New Play Centre serving as a director, 1970-72, and President of the Board, 1972-83. The Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1983. In Montana his friends and colleagues included artists Walter Hook, Jay Rummel and Rudy Autio. As well as pieces from the above, he held works by Jack Shadbolt, Deryck Houston, close friend William Allister, and his daughter Barbro.
Post retirement he and Beverly returned to her family’s waterfront acreage on Puget Sound where they commissioned their wood and glass dream home. Beverly avidly gardened while Doug sculpted, enjoyed revising his stage plays as they continued to be mounted in North America and authored new stage and screenplays. After 66 years of marriage Beverly passed away in 2009. Doug is survived by Barbro (Montreal), Daniel (Seattle), Jon (Toronto), seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Doug and his wife, Beverly, are also remembered at the University of British Columbia through the Douglas and Beverly Bankson Scholarship. This scholarship, established upon his retirement, serves to encourage and reward an undergraduate student who has shown unusual promise as a writer and will Major in Creative Writing in her or his third year.
If you wish to make a donation to the scholarship, you can do so at this link: http://support.ubc.ca/bankson-scholarship
