Stefan Svec

Stefan passed away peacefully with his loving family by his side - his wife Maria, daughter Barbara, and granddaughter Žofka.

Born in Selenca, Yugoslavia, Stefan was academically gifted and studied economics in Novi Sad. After completing 20 months of mandatory military service, he moved to Brussels, Belgium to study civil engineering. There he met his future wife, Maria, and they decided to emigrate to Canada. Stefan worked a variety of interesting jobs in Montreal, including teaching math to adult learners as part of Quebec’s Quiet Revolution.

The next year, the family moved to Victoria to settle down. Stefan designed and built their home in Saanich. For most of his time in Victoria, he worked in the construction industry as a civil engineer. He was proud of the roads and subdivisions which he designed.

In 1973, they bought an acre of land on Hornby Island, and on weekends over several years he lovingly built a cabin there. To this day, it remains his favourite place.

Stefan was a skilled outdoorsman who had many passions, chief among them hunting, fishing, skiing, and photography. He was a devoted father who spent many weekends camping, skiing and motor biking with his daughter Baruška.

He also enjoyed the finer things in life and valued his close friendships with people from all walks of life. Stefan loved animals and will miss his cat, and all the wild critters that befriended him including squirrels, his favourite.

Until his retirement in 2019, Stefan worked for 18 years in the Fort McMurray oil sands. He visited Victoria often to spend time with his family and spoiled his pride and joy, his granddaughter Žofka whenever he could.

Stefan will be missed.

His celebration of life will be announced at a later date.