In our last SPIN monthly we remembered Gus Morhart. Here are the details of his celebration of life.
There will be
a get-together and Celebration of Life for Gus Morhart on
Thursday,
February 25th from 5 to 9pm at
Against the
Grain restaurant (main floor) 87 Laird
Drive, East York, ON M4G 3T7 (647) 748-2840
All are
welcome. So that Natasha has a good idea of the numbers please rsvp to Natasha at natashablaskovic@msn.com if you plan to attend. The restaurant can accommodate
up to 300 people.
Steve Stevens suffered a severe stroke just before Christmas and passed away on January 14th. Here are the details of his celebration of life.
A “Celebration of Life”
for Steve Stevens will take place Thursday, February 11th at
7 pm at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, 44 Price St. in Toronto.
Please come and share a
memory about Steve, and have a drink, a snack, and a laugh, to help
celebrate the life of an individual that did so much for tennis and in
particular Seniors tennis in Canada.
The following is the announcement Tennis Canada made on Steve's death with a couple of additions to reflect his OTA involvement.
Tennis Canada lost a long time
member of its family on Thursday with the passing of Steve Stevens at the age
of 99. Steve was an immensely valuable part of the organization for over three
decades and his loss will leave an indelible hole in the entire Canadian tennis
community.
Steve revolutionized seniors’
tennis in Canada. His passion for the sport and growing the game was unmatched.
He led the growth of seniors’ tennis almost from ground zero, expanding
Canada’s representation at the world championships from one team to 20. Through
his time, Canada has been home to some of the best seniors players in the world
and now regularly achieves success at the world championships every year.
Canada’s annual outdoor national tournament was renamed in his honour in 2010
to the Steve Stevens Senior National Tennis Championships.
Born in England in 1916, Steve
first became involved in tennis at a young age. He organized a church community
club and played socially in Germany and Switzerland. He moved to Brazil in 1951
and after some years without tennis, he took up the sport again in Sao Paulo in
1960 and was an integral part of the tennis community there, including as a
delegate of the Sao Paulo Tennis Federation.
After moving to Toronto in
October 1967, he shortly thereafter began his involvement with Canadian tennis.
He first became a representative for seniors’ tennis on the OTA tournament
committee in 1970 and his contribution only grew from there. He was the general
manager of the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club from 1969 to 1982, OTA Board member
from 1978 to 1987, OTA president from 1982 to 1985 and has been part of Tennis
Canada since the early 90s. In 2003 he was one of the inaugural
recipients of the OTA Distinguished Service Award because of his contributions
to tennis in Ontario.
His annual birthday celebrations
in the Tennis Canada offices were not-to-be-missed as Steve would regale the
staff with vibrant speeches. He loved bringing people together and organizing
parties, and was known for his speeches and ability to tell a tale. He would
regularly hold a crowd at every seniors’event.
Up until recently, Steve was
still acting in his role of Seniors Tennis Coordinator. He celebrated his 99th birthday in November at the Toronto
Lawn.
His fiery spark and kind spirit
will always be remembered. He will be truly and greatly missed by all in the
Canadian tennis community, and especially in the seniors’ community where he
was synonymous with the sport. He leaves behind a huge legacy, and it is thanks
to his vast dedication, passion, and guidance over the years that seniors’
tennis in Canada is in such a positive place today.
Steve passed away at Sunnybrook
in Toronto, just weeks after suffering a stroke.
Photo of Steve Stevens courtesy Peter Figura.
