Obituary of Stephure P. Eng.

We are profoundly saddened to announce the loss of John, our most beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend. With his family surrounding him, he died peacefully in the ICU of the Foothills hospital on the evening of June 28th, after a short fierce struggle with a recurrence of the cancer that he successfully fought eleven years ago. John, the eldest of four children, was born in Edmonton, Alberta, to John Allan and Joyce Stephure, and spent most of his childhood in Lethbridge. He graduated from the University of Calgary in 1972 with a BSc. in chemical engineering. A keen student and lifelong learner, he continued on with the course requirements for a Master’s degree but was too busy working to complete the thesis. He also studied at the University of Western Ontario and took various courses in life-management strategies. For twenty-five years he had an outstandingly successful career in the oil and gas business, culminating in his position as Executive Vice-President of Conwest Exploration Company Limited in 1994. John was a gifted athlete throughout his life, playing basketball and baseball in childhood and later completing the Hawaii Ironman triathlon in 1987 and the Nanisivick marathon on Baffin Island. He also trained in martial arts and when his business career allowed him the time, he indulged in what would later become his favourite pastime – golf. In 1997 Conwest Exploration was merged with Alberta Energy Company Ltd., and thereafter John led AEC West as Executive Vice-President and Senior Technical Advisor, until resigning for health reasons in 1998 after surviving stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His cancer experience radically altered the direction of his life and for the next eleven years he devoted himself to his family – his wife Meredith (neé McEwan), whom he married in 1971, and their three children, Robert, Matthew, and Anne-Marie – and he turned his intense intelligence, passion, resolution and industry toward the service of the wider community. “Faith, family, friends and fun” became his motto. He mentored friends and associates in the energy business and was a co-founder and director of Wellspring Calgary, a community support centre for people with cancer and their families. The centre, generously built and donated by Carma Developers, had its grand opening on June 11th of this year. John taught informally at Wellspring and was also an active board member and supporter of many other charitable organizations, particularly the Developmental Disabilities Resource Council, the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, and Operation Eyesight. He loved to golf at Bearspaw and enjoyed the challenge of other courses in various parts of the warmer world in winter. He and Meredith attended All Saints Anglican Church, Cochrane, where John was a vestry and corporation member and taught financial skills to the youth group. In recent years he helped care for his elderly parents in their final illnesses, and he took especial joy spending time with his children and his nieces and nephews. He organized golf lessons for them in the summer and each winter we had a Christmas reunion at Ghost River, where all the family might gather under one roof. In 2007 John travelled to the Holy Land, a journey that became the most significant of his life as he matured in his Christian faith. John was a man of impeccable integrity and unbounded generosity, warmth, determination, courage, and vision. His faith, his passion for work and adventure, his deep sense of duty, and his love for his family and friends fuelled his life and sustained his great courage during his final illness. Having been given the miracle of eleven more years of life after his first cancer diagnosis, he used that gift to care for others and to give unstintingly of his time, his love, and his resources. One of his favourite quotes was George Bernard Shaw’s: “I want to be all used up when I die.” John did achieve that goal, giving selflessly to all who knew him and to many who did not. The family would like to thank Reverend Greg Clark of All Saints Anglican Church, Cochrane, for his steadfast presence and friendship as we walked this path with John. Special thanks also to Dr. Glenn Gould, John’s family physician, and to the wonderful staff of the Unit 57 Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the Foothills hospital ICU for their compassionate and excellent care. Grateful thanks to all of our friends, and in particular our church community, for their generous outpouring of concern, support and prayers. And most of all thank you, John, for loving, inspiring, leading and caring for us all. Cancer may have ended your life, but now you are journeying with God, and your heart and spirit will be forever with us, undefeated. John is dearly loved and deeply missed by his wife Meredith and their children, Anne-Marie, Rob, and Matthew and his wife Heather; David (brother), his wife Christine and their children Tim and Carolyn; Richard (brother), his wife Eva and their daughter Janine; Joy Brennan (sister), her husband Doug and their children Logan, Cameron, Jackson, and Carson; and the McEwan, Lenters, Jacques, Helpard, Toews, Brennan and Stemp families. A Celebration of John’s Life will be held at the All Saints’ Anglican Church (404-4th Ave North, Cochrane AB) on Saturday July 4, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wellspring Calgary, #1404 Home Rd. NW, Calgary, AB T3B 1G7‎. Telephone: (403) 521-5292. In living memory of John W. Stephure, a tree will be planted at Fletcher Park, Airdrie by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Crowfoot Chapel, 82 CROWFOOT CIRCLE N.W. Telephone: (403) 241-0044.