John Paul STEPHENSON P. Eng.

John Paul STEPHENSON P. Eng.

STEPHENSON, P. Eng., John Paul February 9, 1940 – August 5, 2020 It is with sadness we announce that John Stephenson passed away after a difficult struggle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He will be greatly missed by his high school sweetheart Joanne, his wife of 58 years, his sons Tim (Sarka) and Jeff (Caroline) and his four grandchildren Jessica, Robert, Lukash and Aneshka. John was born in 1940 in Willowdale.

He was part of a large family.

William and Harriet Stephenson had five sons, Dave, Gord, Jim, John and Allen, and a daughter, Eleanor, the youngest. John graduated from the University of Toronto in 1963 with a B.A.Sc. degree – Civil Engineering. At the age of 29, he started his own consulting firm in a one-room office on Isabella Street in Toronto. The business is still going strong and had its 50-year anniversary in May 2019. John took great pride in providing quality and innovative engineering services throughout his 50-year career as a consultant. He received numerous awards including the Schreyer Award, the highest consulting engineering award given in Canada. John was an avid athlete all his life. During his time at the University of Toronto, he was three-time Intercollegiate Wrestling Champion. Other sports included skiing, squash, curling and most importantly, golf. He and Joanne were members of Thornhill Country Club for more than 40 years. Travel was a big part of John and Joanne’s life. They visited more than 60 countries, playing golf in at least 18 of these countries.

They always loved to get back to their home, family and friends, and to John’s beautiful flower gardens. John was a passionate volunteer for the charity Schools for Children of the World Canada, acting as both a Director and fundraiser for the organization which partners with local communities to design and construct schools for children in Central and South America. Memorial donations in support of SCWC would be greatly appreciated (www.scwcanada.ca).

Following a private family funeral, a Celebration of John’s life will be held at a future date when it is possible. Online tributes may be left at marshallfuneralhome.com