Stephen "Steve" Fonyo

Stephen Charles Fonyo (Steve) passed away on Friday, February 18, 2022, in Burnaby, BC. Steve was born in Montreal, Quebec on June 29, 1965. He was 56. Steve is predeceased by his father, Stephen Joseph Fonyo Sr. Steve will be lovingly and forever remembered by his spouse, Lisa Marie Herbert, mother, Anna Fonyo, sister, Suzanne Main , brother-in-law, Robert Main, and niece, Melody Kruppa.

Steve had his left leg amputated at the age of twelve due to bone cancer. Steve was of Hungarian descent and was fluent in the language. In 1984 Steve began his cross Canada run, “Journey for Lives”. He began his run in Newfoundland and completed it fourteen months later in Victoria BC.

Steve raised over 13 million dollars for cancer research during his run, becoming the youngest person to have ever received the Order of Canada. Steve’s courage, resilience and generosity were never more apparent than when he undertook his “Journey for Lives” marathon. Shortly afterwards, Steve took his “Journey for Lives” to the United Kingdom and ran the length of the country.

After his marathons, Steve became a specialist in rebuilding transmissions. He was passionate about cars, boats, airplanes, cooking, and playing chess. Recently he enjoyed flying drones. Steve loved cats beyond measure and also enjoyed scuba diving and flying helicopters. Despite losing his leg at such a young age and through all the highs and lows of his life, Steve lived from the heart and never lost his passion for life, maintaining his optimistic outlook until his passing.

Two documentaries, “Hurt” and “Hope”, were made about Steve, both directed by Alan Zweig and produced by Peter Gentile. “Hurt” won the Platform prize at the Toronto International Film Festival as well as the Canadian Screen Award for best Canadian feature documentary and “Hope” was featured at “Hot Docs”.

Steve’s niece and sister would like to express special heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Gabor Mate both for his willingness to participate in the first documentary and for his genuine care for Steve. The family also thanks the staff at the Sunshine Coast Treatment Center for their efforts in Steve’s healing.

Funeral services will be held at the Pleasant Valley Funeral Home at 4303 Pleasant Valley Road, Vernon BC V1T 4M4 on Friday March 4th, 2022, at 11:00am. The service will be live streamed at www.pleasantvalleyfh.com

Steve will be laid to rest next to his father at Pleasant Valley Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society and/or your local SPCA. Sympathies to the family can be expressed at [email protected]