Mathew Stefureak
| Mathew Stefureak | |
|---|---|
| Matt Stefureak | |
| Born | 1937 Willingdon, Alberta |
| Died | 2017-07-01 Midland, Ontario |
| Years in Thunder Bay | 1969–1998; again at some time before 2015 (dates not given) |
| Occupation | high-school teacher and school principal |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
| Children | |
Mathew Stefureak (died 1 July 2017) was a teacher and school administrator, known as Matt, who taught business education in Port Arthur and Thunder Bay high schools and later taught at the Canadian Overseas College and was principal of the Canadian International School in Singapore. He took a master's degree at Lakehead University.[1]
Early life and teaching career
Stefureak was born in 1937 in Willingdon, Alberta and grew up on the family farm and later in Hairy Hill, Alberta. He left Alberta at 17, ended up in Toronto and then Ottawa, where he worked in the federal Department of External Affairs and met Beverley; they married in Toronto on 3 September 1966. He earned a BA in political science and a diploma in public administration at Carleton University in 1968, worked for Bell Canada for a year, and then trained as a teacher in summer classes.[1]
In June 1969 the family moved to Port Arthur, where he taught business education at Hammarskjold High School, later heading the business department at Churchill High School and then Hillcrest High School. He received a Master of Education from Lakehead in 1986.[1]
Overseas posts and retirement
Using leaves of absence, he toured Europe with his family in a camper van in 1986–87; taught in 1991–92 at the Canadian Overseas College in Singapore; served in 1994–95 as principal of the Canadian International School in Singapore; and in 1997–98 headed the first OAC Ontario program at Huamei International School in Guangzhou, China. He retired in 1998, then lived in Toronto, St. Catharines, Thunder Bay and finally Midland, Ontario, where he moved in 2015. He and Beverley travelled widely and wintered in southern Mexico for fourteen years, and he enjoyed golf, curling with the Go-Slow curlers and following the Montreal Canadiens.[1]
Death and family
Stefureak died on 1 July 2017 at Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland after a fight with cancer. He was cremated, with a funeral mass in Midland on 5 July and a celebration of life planned in Thunder Bay.[1]
He was survived by his wife Beverley, his children Mark (with Vicki), Nancy (with Gerry) and Lesley (with Rob), grandson Jacob, his sisters Mary (with Frank) and Victoria, his brother Willis, and his sisters-in-law Caren (with Al) and Jeanette. His parents Peter and Annie, his brothers Edward and John, his sister Elizabeth and his grandson Luka died before him.[1]
His wife Beverley was a long-serving officer of the Retirees' Association of Lakehead University: the newsletter lists her as membership secretary in 2011 and again in 2017, and as a director of CURAC/ARUCC from 2014.[2][3][4]
Other records
An obituary-index entry dated 8 July 2017 lists this person.[5]
These records were found by name only, with no further detail that confirms they concern this Mathew Stefureak, so they are listed as possibly the same person.
- Photo notice in The Chronicle-Journal, 1980-12-26.[6]
- Index note: New lodge master. Possibly the same person; the surname is rare and he lived in Port Arthur at the time, but no other fact confirms it.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Entry for Matt Stefureak, "In Memoriam", Retirees' Association of Lakehead University, https://www.lakeheadretirees.ca/in-memoriam/ (accessed 31 October 2026). Archived copy on datum.locker.
- ↑ Executive list, PDF p. 6, RALU News, vol. 4, no. 1 (September 2011), Retirees' Association of Lakehead University. Archived copy on datum.locker (original PDF listed at the association's archived newsletters page).
- ↑ Executive list, PDF p. 6, RALU News, vol. 10, no. 1 (October 2017), Retirees' Association of Lakehead University. Archived copy on datum.locker (original PDF listed at the association's archived newsletters page).
- ↑ Conference report, PDF p. 8, RALU News, vol. 7, no. 1 (September 2014), Retirees' Association of Lakehead University. Archived copy on datum.locker (original PDF listed at the association's archived newsletters page).
- ↑ The Chronicle-Journal, 8 July 2017, p. 1(B)
- ↑ The Chronicle-Journal, 26 December 1980, p. 19