Stephen "Steve" Paul Zago

Our beloved Steve Zago – pilot, coffee aficionado, lover of British cars, husband, son, brother, grandson, father, grandfather and friend to many, died on October 9th when his small plane went down outside Fergus.

Steve was born in Guelph to Gail Bartlett and Paul Zago. His early years were spent in The Ward – always his favourite part of town. Steve loved being Italian and embraced his extended Italian family and roots with gusto. As a youth, Steve found excitement and challenge in being a part of the Air Cadets. He followed this up at seventeen when he joined the Army Reserves, where he found a whole new family of friends.

Steve’s love affair with aviation began at the age of eight when his father took him and his sister Kate to “Airport Days” at Guelph Airport. They went for a half-hour flight, and when Steve got to fly the plane, he was hooked. Flight school in Kitchener was followed by two years in Yellowknife with Air Tindi, flying Twin Otters in the Maldives, a corporate jet for the Ontario government, and for Walsten Air in Kenora, North Cariboo and Air Canada Jazz in Calgary.

In 2012 Steve returned to Guelph and joined the Air Transat family – becoming Captain Steve in 2016. When Steve moved back to Guelph he met Holly, who became his person, his confidant and his best friend. Holly and Steve sealed the deal in 2015 in Las Vegas with an Elvis-officiated wedding. Their marriage began in love and laughter which set the tone for their time together. Steve loved being stepfather to Daniel and his wife Jaz and felt immense joy to be “Poppa” to his grandson Rowan.

When Steve was grounded by Covid in 2020 he and his friend and fellow pilot Adam Wright turned lemons into lemonade and founded the Lost Aviator Coffee Company. Steve realized his dream of returning to the Ward when they opened their first café on York Road in Guelph.

Steve built community wherever he went – making friends in every walk of his life. He cherished his family – both familial and found. He was steadfast, tenacious, funny, irreverent and kind. He loved to be politically incorrect – always with a twinkle in his eye and a cheeky grin on his face. When he was your friend, he was truly your friend.

His family is overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and tributes to him. Rather than donations to a single charity, we believe Steve would simply encourage you to go out and support a local business.

In lieu of the Viking funeral that he would have appreciated, a celebration of life will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 234 at 57 Watson Parkway South in Guelph on Sunday, October 25th at 2:30 P.M.

The service will be livestreamed for anyone unable to attend. A link will be available on Steve’s obituary at www.gilbertmacintyreandson.com