
A Kamloops lawyer killed in a skydiving accident was remembered with a moment of silence in a court room today.
Jay Michi says about 100 people filled Courtroom 2D for Don Campbell, including members of the Crown office, judges and sheriffs, which he says shows the amount of respect the bench had for the longtime defense lawyer.
“Don and I worked in the same office, in fact our offices were side by side. Often my day would end with kind of a debrief with Don. I’d stick around usually a little bit later. Don would often go to court until the end of the day then come back and meet with clients… But always lots of time. He’d always like to ask what other people were doing and give his input on legal issues.”
Michi says Campbell had an innate ability to serve people dealing with homelessness, addiction or mental health issues.
“A lot of people who couldn’t deal with other counsel… No one person is going to be able to step in and fill Don’s shoes.”
Campbell was killed on Saturday after a skydiving accident near the Kamloops Airport. Asked if Campbell ever talked to him about skydiving, Michi says “all the time.”
“Don loved skydiving. He offered to take me skydiving, I’m a little bit more risk-averse but Don loved it… I know he was a very good skier too, slowing down a bit over the last few issues, he had some knee issues. But he got all that fixed and he was still jumping out of a planes. And he flew all over the world, he was part of the Canadian national skydiving team, which I didn’t even know was a thing… They’d go to places like Dubai and do these jumps where they make formations… If ever you would indulge him he would show you pictures and videos of skydiving.”
Campbell was 60 years and had spent the past 30 of those working in Kamloops as a lawyer.
“As much as we’re broken up here in the courthouse, our thoughts are really, and our condolences are really with, Mr. Campbell’s wife and daughter and grand kids, going through so much grief right now,” Michi says.
(Photo: Facebook: Don Campbell)