It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Stewart Veck (Wifty), peacefully on December 17, 2022 at the age of 90, after a short fight against cancer. He now can join the love of his life Viola up in heaven. He is survived by sons Bill Veck (Kim Cronin), Mike Veck (Paula Pharand), and daughters Terry Veck Williams and Kathy Veck. He is also survived by 5 grandchildren, Cameron Veck (Sara), Colleen Veck, Calah Veck, Lorilei Steele (Tyler), Craig Ead II (Melissa) and 3 great-grandchildren Vienna Milville, Amara Veck and Leon Ead.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, 280 Beechwood Avenue, on Saturday, January 21, 2023, from 1 to 4. Visitation will begin at 1PM, a small service, interment and a reception to follow. For those that were not able to attend the service in person, you may watch the service at the following link : Livestreaming of Wifty's Service
In lieu of flowers, in memoriam donations to the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation would be appreciated.
Dad was always so active in sports from his youth days on the outdoor arenas up to his junior days with the Inkerman Rockets. After marrying our Mom we moved to Arlington VA. as a civilian member of DND at the Canadian Embassy in Washington. He transferred to External Affairs while in Washington and led to staying there for 14 years! He played on the Embassy softball team, the Canucks, as well as coaching baseball for many years. Even coached to a State Championship. His next posting was to London England, followed by postings to NATO in Belgium, another posting to London and temporary duties in Copenhagen, Denmark and The Hague, Netherlands. On these postings he made many lifelong friends.
Dad love playing golf, bowling (duckpin, 10 pin and 5 pin) and later in life fishing on the Ottawa River with Mike. Had great trips to Myrtle Beach in the motorhome he bought and played a lot of mini golf!
May you go forth and rest in peace. You are deeply loved and will be deeply missed!!
Stories and funny times:
One of Dads favourite stories is one Mom would tell. We were umpiring a game and Mom was in the stands. Dad made a call at first, and some lady yells “you blind bastard” Mom turns and says “Hey that’s my husband, and he’s not blind”! Dad laughed at that every time.
Another time at a dinner party with friends, the hostess said to pass their plates. Dad pulls out his dentures and offers them to her.
Dad saw a lot in life. We attended the funeral procession of JFK, went to see John Glenn after he came home from his space flight, saw mans first walk on the moon, he met the Queen and Prince Phillip twice. Experienced the creation of TV, then the transition from Black and white to colour, VHS, DVDs, Cell phones, social media, all created in his lifetime. He wanted to reach 90, and he did!
There was also a time when Grandpa Veck told the kids not to swim in the canal. Dad’s brother took a kayak down and went for a ride. The kayak tipped over and his brother was trapped. Dad dove in and swam over to help free him. When they got back home his brother snuck in the back and Dad got punished for swimming in the canal!
Another time, playing hockey against one of their rival teams, one guy did a dirty hit and broke Dad’s leg. The next game Dad was standing along the boards. As that player skated by, Dad cracked him in the head with his crutch! Started a riot and the cops had to come and break it up. Funny part was, he hobbles away on his crutches and the cops don’t even stop him.
Then there was the time he had a broken arm. He was out with his slingshot and accidently hit a cop in the back of the head. He ran and the cop came to the house. His dad said it couldn’t be dad, he has a broken arm. After the cop left dad being honest when asked said “yes I did”. Grandpa asked him how. Dad showed grandpa how he would dip the elbow of the cast in hot water and he could move it! That is why his left arm wasn’t straight!
Digital Guestbook
Judith King Matheson
Cheryl Cayer
My deepest sympathy to you Mike and your family during this time. He was a lucky man to have you, no regrets.
William and Aline Foster
Deepest condolences to the Veck Family on the loss of a dear dad. We are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers. RIP Mr. Veck.
Jason McCoy and Lise Jolicoeur
Stu was a wonderful man. We are very much saddened by Stu's death. Our deepest condolences to Mike and the Veck family. Rest In Peace.
Chris Clark
My heart goes out to you and your family mike
Debbie Soroczan
I would have loved to have known your dad, but this tribute to him certainly gives us an idea of what a full, fascinating life he lived, and what character he was. My deepest condolences to your family. He is with your mom and the rest of the angels now.
Sherri Y.
What a beautiful tribute for a man who was so clearly a family man. Keep telling those wonderful stories! Sending the family my deepest condolences.
Judith King Matheson
Our deepest condolences to Mike, Bill ,Terry, Kathy, and the entire Veck Family.
Our family enjoyed so many happy memories with the Veck's in Brussel's we were very good friends in which Our families together formed a great team of creating lots of fun and endless laughs !
Be it around their kitchen table or the memorable New Year's Eve Party in which Bill made a grand appearance!
Or us playing as a team in ten pin bowling mixed league and managing to win the championship trophy at NATO !
Even when our key player husband Bob could not play in the final game.
We all managed to bowl well enough to take the highest score with team work!
Stu and Vi were a couple that cared greatly 4 the good of other's and loved life!
I am thankful that Stu and Vi and so many other's like my husband Bob and the Dufour's 'who now too are all with Stu in eternal peace and out of pain of any kind can now rest in eternal peace.
I like to think and imagine that all our collective ancesters now in Spirit world are sending us love and thanks.
May we see in our own lives that in our deep grief and pain of loss is also the opportunity to slow down and count our many blessings
To all of Stu and Vi's children , their grandchildren and great grandchildren and to us all.
May we all as One Universal Human Family learn to slow down, have fun, and in grace and gratitude count our many blessings!
Let us make each new day count in thanks to the joy and fun and laughter that loved one's with their lives have left us . As their legacy to carry on.
Let us let go of any memories or trauma of any kind that do not serve all of our highest good to live from hope.
May we as we heal aspire in our actions and beliefs to have goodness flow in and through our diverse life challenges to teach us the power of love and good intentions that can create every day miracles.
Stu lived life like many with true grit, resiliance and inner fortitude.
His generation did not talk much but lived with quiet whit and laughter our greatest medecine .
We often laughed at the visit they had with us in our home in Greece with young Mike the way he looked when they arrived and when they left he was bruises from head to toe!
What a blessing life.. is to have all our wonderful unique children and to see hoe this wee child has grown to be blessed to be the person able ro be with his Dad to assist him in reaching age 90!
Thanks Mike in helping your Dad to achieve his goal of reaching age 90 it is a great lesson to us all to never give up and to set what can become in our actions towards achievable goals! Making them reality!
May we never stop learning about how sacred life is and remember life continues on in many other spiritual dimensions of reality and sacred ways of being the one's we have been waiting for,,,,,!
Seeing as in all of us is the power of love born every nrew day in each new born child!
It is said that that as each unique soul passes on to Spirt world this passage opens a door a space 4 a new child to be born !
Msy this message and the one of our many perspectives of faith feed our souls with knowing we are not alone we all have pain and trauma but we are not alone.
As we say goodbye to Stu on Jan 21 may we be reminded of Stu going home home to what Jesus who became the Christ reminded his disciples of over two thousand years ago.
A MESSAGE of love to us all
"I go to prepare a place 4 you . In my Father's House are Many Mansions."
Safe journey home home Stu and thanks Mike 4 all your love that has gone into all the planning to celebrate your Dad's life!
I hope this lengthy memory message blesses all your family.
That in the days forward where grief is a process unique to all of us and especially to those of us living far away in other areas when our loved one's pass .. a special big hug and loving thoughts go to Terry.
May I on behalf of both Rob and Chalanne offer all our deepest sympathy and love to you all.
May the many happy memories and this message sustain you and yours in the days ahead.
Judith King Matheson
Thanks Mike stories are powerful and deeply healing. Sending our prayers with all our thoughts of the many happy memories of your Dad and your Mom and you the children now grown adults! Where do the years go? How much fun we had as couples serving in External Affairs despite some of the challenges we had some great times!
I hope you have some time on Jan. 21 for story telling! Be it bowling together in a Mixed NATO league winning the championship and then later the four of us racing to a bowling alley elsewhere to sign up when we thought the place we were bowling was closing! Fun experiences with Stu and Vi!
This included Bob and I trick and treating them as we dressed up for Halloween and went knocking on their door with one of our friends dressed up as a pregnant nun! Or our all celebrating New Year's Eve at the Veck's with the Dufour's and many others welcoming in our very special New Year's Baby! I wonder what his name was!?
Bill, Terry, and Cathy bet you have fond memories of that and all the the times in your lives in which great stories were created to remember and to celebrate the good times we all have had.
Thanks Mike for telling the stories you were a bit young to remember New Year's Eve but you are the one blessed to have been able to help your Dad achieve his dream of living to big age ninety! What an achievement!!
On closing I surround you all with much love may the unique memories of your Dad as he returns to Spirit Love to reunite with your Mom give you much peace!
I hope that you all continue to feel their love from afar sending you their love and blessings from the other side of the Rain bow Bridge as in our own lives we witness there is no greater power than love.
Let us remember that in our the deep losses of life despite the hurt and pain that comes may we help each other to rise up and remember to also to celebrate our own lives. And our own stories of Mike coming to Greece on vacation with his Mom and Dad to visit us and leaving all black and blue from his wonderful experiences of being a small boy exploring and continually falling down. My what a wonderful grown up man Man Mike you have become!
From our family to yours from myself Rob and Chalanne may the words from Chief Dan George below from our hearts to all of yours be received and give you much hope.
May in each new day of Sun Shine and Sunset and the light shining on the snow or from the Stars. May we walk in nature and see the beauty of the love in our own soul's and that of all our loved one's in our cherished memories.
May the birth of every new born child remind us that Creator wants our world to continue and there is no greater medicine than joy and laughter despite all our sadness. So let us celebrate our Ancestors now in Spirit world are cheering us all on. Stu and Bob are now probably getting ready to bowl or have a game of golf! Who knows perhaps Vi is coming along!
Let us always hang onto hope. And hang on to our highest ideals. In Creator's world let us learn to be still and to listen. To Listen to know we are never alone. To remember who we are. We are love. May the message from Chief George feed your souls and give you and all deep abiding peace to all of Stu's family and to all of humanity's and our own family's future generations. Let us take this message below into our ways of being from our hearts.
May the stars
Carry your sadness
away
May the flowers fill
Your heart
With beauty
May hope forever
wipe away your tears
And above all
Will silence make
You strong
Message from Chief Dan George
Emilie Caines
Deepest condolences. He certainly lived a wonderful life. Much love.
Our prayers an