By James Peters

Longtime Kamloops physician Dennis Karpiak remembered for “powerhouse” personality, selflessness

Feb 25, 2019 | 4:20 PM

KAMLOOPS — A well-known and longtime Kamloops physician has died.

Dr. Dennis Karpiak passed away Saturday (Feb. 23) due to complications from a long term medical condition.

His son Andrew says Dr. Karpiak was known for his “powerhouse” personality, but also for giving of himself at every occasion.

“He was definitely a powerhouse from a personality standpoint in the city, and medically,” said Andrew. “That didn’t necessarily change as a family man but he was a lot softer, obviously, on my brother and me. We had a really good upbringing. He instilled a lot of his personal beliefs in us.”

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“He valued education and hard work. He came from a hard-working Ukrainian family from the Prairies and that’s just something my brother and I picked up as kids. His love for gardening, his love for cooking, his love for family time…”

Andrew says his father received numerous professional and civic honours throughout his life, but the Governor General’s Medal of Bravery he received in 1989 spoke to his character the best.

Karpiak was invested with the award after catching a girl who had been dangling from a Sun Peaks chairlift, possibly saving her life.

“He was always that guy who would perk up if he ever heard someone he thought wasn’t quite getting the care he felt they needed,” Andrew said. “There must have been a slew of people over the years who would come by the house, he would listen to their chest and just help prod along, making sure they were asking the right questions. That’s what he lived for.”

Karpiak received a liver transplant to help him survive his illness, and Andrew says this brought home his strong belief in the importance of organ donation.

Andrew adds his father didn’t want a large funeral service, and those wishing to pay tribute are encouraged to donate to another cause he supported: the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation.

Andrew says the Karpiak name is synonymous with his father’s career in Kamloops, and that’s a legacy he treasures.

“As a realtor now, there’s not a day that goes by, almost, that I don’t get people saying, at some point in their lives, my dad touched them through work.”

“That’s pretty cool. That’s pretty neat to have that happen in my life.”

Dr. Dennis Karpiak was 76.