Shig Kobayashi was a pharmacist and a very strong proponent of university education. One of his proudest achievements was completing his pharmacy degree at UBC in 1958.

Shig was born on July 7, 1932 in Vancouver, BC.  He was the first-born son of family that eventually had 14 children.  He lived in Kitsilano until 1942 when all individuals of Japanese descent were required to move at least 100 miles from the coast.  His family moved to Blind Bay and then settled in Kamloops.  While going to school, he worked in sawmills and picked apples to earn money, played hockey and basketball, and played the trumpet in the school band.

With his father’s strong encouragement, Shig attended UBC, and initially took science courses. During the summers, Shig attended the Canadian Services College, Royal Roads where he undertook naval training and had opportunities to travel to the South Pacific, Caribbean, New Zealand, Australia, South America and Hawaii.

Based on a friend’s suggestion, Shig enrolled in pharmacy and started an internship in 1952.  Shig moved to Kamloops in 1958 where he began working at Galloway Ellis Drugs.   He became a partner in 1965 and a sole owner in 1988.  He continued to operate the pharmacy until 1993 when he retired and closed one of the city’s oldest retail businesses which had served four generations of customers.

Shig also devoted much of his time to his immediate and extended family.  He married Yoshiko (Jean) Kobayashi in 1956.    They had three daughters, Shaunna, Kim and Allison, and one son, Pat.  Many memorable summers were spent at a cabin on Little Shuswap and on road trip adventures in BC, Alberta and the US.

Shig was a great fan of team sports and attended his son’s and grandchildren’s hockey games as often as he could.  In his earlier days, he was an avid curler and coached a neighbourhood baseball team as well as a high school basketball team.

Shig took great pride in his gardening, landscaping and home renovations.  His well-manicured gardens, sculpted trees, and bountiful fruit trees were enjoyed by many.  Shig also enjoyed helping his family and friends with their gardening, landscaping and home renovation projects.

Shig was a very strong advocate of obtaining a university education.  For many years, he tutored chemistry students and participated as an assessor for the pharmacy qualifying examinations. His influence was very impactful as all four of his children went on to complete post-secondary education programs.

Shig passed away in Kamloops on August 19, 2021. To honour Shig’s life and contributions to the pharmacy profession, his friends and family would like to establish the Shig Kobayashi Memorial Award to provide four annual awards of $2,500  each, for pharmacy students enrolled full time at UBC.

Your gift will recognize students who in addition to a keen interest in pharmacy, have demonstrated outstanding contributions to their community or significant achievements in a team sport.