Friends and family have confirmed the identity of a man who passed away Monday morning at the city’s temporary overnight shelter as Shane Bourdin.
His cousin, Tanaya Theresa, described the father of two as kindhearted and compassionate adding his smile and laugh lit up any room he was in.
“He would do anything for anyone and couldn’t stand to see anyone hurt,” Theresa wrote on Facebook.
“So many are quick to think that using drugs makes someone a horrible outcast monster. Don’t forget these people are humans with real feelings and emotions just like you. Everyone has a story,” she added.
Another friend, Nastasia Neff, wrote he was one-of-a-kind.
“Shane was an amazing guy. I grew up with him – he was a friend of ours since about grade eight,” Neff said.
“It’s just super sad, almost sickening sad. He was like a brother to a lot of us.”
Bourdin is survived by a young son and daughter with ex-girlfriend Anita Anderson.
Paramedics responded to a call for an unconscious person at Recreation Avenue site in the north end of the city on Monday morning. He was transported to Kelowna General Hospital, where he later died.
BC Emergency Health Services, Kelowna RCMP and the City of Kelowna have all confirmed the man’s death but not the cause or his identity.
RCMP Cst. Solana Paré said the B.C. Coroners Service has been notified and they are now investigating, but there are no further details to release.
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