Werner Stephan

Werner Stephan passed away peacefully on October 17, 2024 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the age of 97.

Werner was born on July 20, 1927 in Berlin, Germany, and was the youngest of three children to parents Paul and Camilla Stephan. Werner was a bright student and a good athlete in the sport of track and field and also had a mischievous streak, loving to play harmless pranks on friends and relations which were welcome distractions from the poverty in which he was raised by his working class parents.

Werner’s childhood ended abruptly when, as a very young teen, he was conscripted to the German Army, in WWII. He was not only posted as an anti aircraft soldier, but was sent into combat on the front lines, where he was ultimately captured by the English, becoming a POW by the age of 16. In England, Werner became fluent in English and was trained as a nurse, which spurred in him the dream of becoming a physician. After his release and upon his return to Germany, Werner discovered that his mother had died of malnutrition during the war and that his father had left the family, so he and his siblings were left to fend for themselves.

Werner married young and became a father, which ended his dream of studying medicine. Facing the reality of having to provide for his family, he chose a more expedient education, becoming a high school teacher teaching science, biology and Phys Ed. His first marriage did not survive the challenges of youth and after his divorce, he met his second wife Alina Hartmann, also a teacher. They married and had one daughter, Camilla, named after her paternal grandmother. Werner’s small family emigrated to Canada in 1971, where he drew on his English proficiency, returning to university to earn his Master’s Degree in Education at the University of Calgary, and subsequently his PhD in Education at the University of Alberta. Werner became a Professor in the Department of Sociology in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in 1978, and ultimately became Department Head.

He retired from the University of Saskatchewan at the age of 68 and remained in Saskatoon. Werner spent his last twenty months in a private care home, where he was well-liked and appreciated by both fellow-residents and staff members for his gentle manner, sense of humour and consideration towards others. Memories of the good times they spent together will be dearly cherished. Werner was a well loved professor, a respected colleague, and warm and kind father, grandfather, father in law and friend.

Werner will be missed by his daughter Camilla Heck, her husband Brian, his three grandchildren Alina, Benjamin and Matthew, his close friend Ling Zhang and extended family in Canada and Germany, all of whom wish to thank the staff of the Beacon Care Home and the doctors and nurses of the Royal University Hospital for their kind care of Werner.

Werner was predeceased by his parents, his siblings Gerhard and Gretel and several extended family members.