We had 32 wonderful years with our beautiful son Steven. He was kind, polite, funny and always ready to extend a helping hand. His smile always warmed our hearts.  We were blessed with his birth on March 7th, 1990 and will never, ever, forget that day in our lives. He was a happy baby, always laughing. We had many names for him, the gaffer, Stevinski but most of all, our beautiful and handsome son. A wonderful brother to his sister, Julianne. He was proud to see her and Brendan get married and welcome Brendan as his brother in law. He was loved beyond words by his parents Luciano and Terry, his sister Julianne and brother in law Brendan.  He was adored and loved by his Nonno Domenic, beloved Nonna Delia, Nonno Italo and Nonna Franca. He was also adored and dearly loved by his aunts and uncles, Zia Rose, Beloved Uncle Bill, Zio Fred and Zia Catia. He loved his cousins too, Earl, Delia, Alexa, Domenic and Ava and especially little Kaiya and Josephine. And he was a special friend to many.

Steven had many talents. He was always fiddling with something. He became an expert Newt breeder so much so, that his approach and notes have been published and have been recognized internationally among others who enjoyed this hobby. He was well known in the Newt community across Canada because he was the best (we were told this by many). At one point he had hundreds of them (in tanks in our basement) and many were rare species that he was able to successfully breed. He was into computers too and always creating something. Most recently, he was enjoying being creative with his 3D printer, a Xmas gift he received this past year. For several years, Steven grew the hottest peppers ever and then crushed them for use in pastas, meats or whatever needed that extra kick. And recently too, he got into collecting high powered flashlights. He even bought one that illuminated the dust and used it around the house (can you imagine picking up every particle of dust that is not evident to the human eye?!). The flashlights were all very small but high powered and would light up the backyard like a baseball field. On Thursday evening, he cleaned all the baseboards, door frames and windows in the house using his flashlight to make sure he got every speck of dust.

Steven also loved to whistle. And just this past Thursday we heard him whistle and it always brought us a smile. It was the music in our house. Every night, every single time, when he was finished dinner he would say “thank you for dinner” and on days when he went into work, he would never say goodbye and instead say “have a nice day” as he went out the door. After dinner, and for every family gathering, Steven and Julianne became the clean-up crew, washing all the trays, pots and whatever else needed to be done. On occasion he cut the grass, and it was always perfect. Lines were absolutely straight and the grass looked best when he did it.

Whatever it was, Steven was “all in”. Above all, he was a kind and gentle soul. Steven was our gentle giant and so much more.

Julianne especially, will always remember their time in the bathroom together. They shared a bathroom between their rooms and regularly hung out in there and chatted. Julianne wore the title “Steven’s sister” proudly throughout school at St. Edward’s and De La Salle College and today more than ever.

Steven loved his food and ate whatever was in front of him. He was never fussy and never turned down a chocolate chip cookie or a plate of pasta or one (or 2 or 3) of Zia Rose’s rice balls.

Steven attended St. Edward’s for elementary school, De La Salle College for high school and Western University where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology. Along the way, he made friends with many.

Steven has left us beautiful memories that we will treasure for a lifetime. We love you our dear sweet boy, our wonderful young man. May you Rest In Eternal Peace. We hope you whistle among the angels and introduce them to all your passions.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mackenzie Health Foundation in memory of Steven by clicking the link below:

https://supportmackenziehealth.ca/ui/stevenjames/donations/start