Obituary of Frederick John Steadman

It is with sad hearts that the family of Frederick "Fred" John Steadman announces his unexpected passing on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at his home in Keswick Ridge, NB, at the age of 92 years.

Fred is survived by his loving wife of almost 65 years, Helen; his two daughters, Deb Steadman of Keswick Ridge, NB and Cheryl Steadman of Saint John, NB. Also survived by granddaughters, Erin van Gendt (Mike) of Paris, ON and Kelly da Silva (Simon) of Hamilton, ON, four great-grandchildren, Marrick & Kaelyn da Silva and Bronte & Quinn van Gendt, and several nieces and nephews. 

Dad was about to turn 93 in October. The youngest of five siblings, he was born in Calgary, Alberta and soon after high school, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force serving for 12 years in locations in Canada and abroad as a Jet Mechanic. It was when he was stationed in Baden-Soellingen, Germany that he met the love of his life, Helen Kingston, who was an RCAF Weather Observer. They went on their first date on January 18,1959 and married exactly 11 months later on December 18th. They were in Cold Lake, Alberta when their first child, Debra, was born and four years later, they were back in Germany when number two daughter, Cheryl, came along. 

After completing their family with the two girls, they decided to retire from the Air Force and settle back in Canada, and bought a home in Agincourt, Ontario. Having a family to feed and a mortgage to pay, Dad took on not one but two full time jobs so that Mom could stay home with us until we were in school full time. Dad, being super smart and forward-thinking, got a job with Canada Post to continue his federal government employment and pension, and he also got a job at the Canadiana Hotel in Scarborough in the banquets department. He’d go to work at 6am-2pm at the post office, then from 4pm-close at the hotel … and then get up and do it all again the next day. And, even though we know that he worked long hours, we never ever felt like he wasn’t there for us. 

He was a super supportive Dad. We spent a lot of time at Agincourt Bowl and he was right there with us, coaching, financially motivating (a nickel for a spare, a dime for a strike!), driving us to tournaments, etc. He was also the best driver of the Brownie Troop to events and summer camp. He’d load us all up in the bed of his pickup and off we’d go! (Yes, this was before seat belts were a thing … and we survived!)

One of my favourite memories of my Dad is stopping in at the Post Office on my way home from school to say hello to him. He was a front desk clerk. Without fail, he was always a happy worker … the guy that whistles while he works, had a smile for everyone and his clients loved lining up at his wicket to be served by him. He carried that friendly and helpful demeanour throughout his life. He was the first guy in our neighbourhood to have a snowblower, and he enjoyed helping to clear all the neighbours’ driveways following a big snowfall. He just liked to help. 

In 1986, Mom and Dad built their dream home just outside of Fredericton, New Brunswick and happily retired. Dad made many trips back and forth between Ontario and New Brunswick as the house was under construction, always taking a load of items to be moved in his pickup truck. If you’re doing the math, 1986 was 38 years ago. Dad was hoping to drain the Federal Government Pension Plan by having the longest retirement ever. I think he did pretty well!

He was one of the best armchair athletes going. He loved to watch pretty much every sport, sometimes more than one at a time. And he was a golfer. After retirement, he golfed pretty much five days a week up until about age 90, when his sore feet told him he couldn’t walk the course anymore. And he always said, golf is only fun if you walk the course – he didn’t want to ride on a cart!

When Dad was just four years old, his father taught him how to play the game of Cribbage. And he played it … a lot! Almost 89 years of experience playing Crib. He and Mom would play a game or two every day. 

He was a Mr. Fixit and could build or repair just about anything. He was a beautiful wood-worker and many people proudly own a piece of Dad’s furniture today. 

He loved animals! We grew up with dogs and have loved having them in all our lives ever since. When Deb moved in with Mom and Dad in 2010, they were both very tolerant of the steady stream of animals that came into their life with her. Currently, there are three dogs, four ducks, and a miniature horse. Also every Spring, for about six weeks or so, a newborn lamb will move in to be bottle fed and weaned. He always looked pretty happy when he would sit in his chair at the table and Spice, the little Chihuahua, would climb up his leg and perch in the crook of his elbow. 

He was an enthusiastic retriever of the mail, with his Sheltie, Jade by his side. Once a postie, always a postie! And, he had two common and predictable sayings:

“Don’t waste your film” … every time there was a camera pointed at him – even in the age of digital cameras and phones

“Want my jack-knife?” … anytime someone had a package to open, or an apple to slice, etc. etc.

Dad will be missed so much by so many. He was an incredible husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, neighbour and friend to many people, and we were all so fortunate to have him in our lives. 

At his request, there will not be a funeral or service. We will look at hosting a Celebration of Life in his honour at a later date. On behalf of our family, we want to thank everyone for their very kind condolences and love. We love hearing about great memories of him, so feel free to share those. 

In lieu of flowers, anyone who wishes may make a donation in Dad’s memory to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital Foundation in Fredericton, NB. Personal condolences may be offered through www.yorkfh.com