Stephen Michael Hamilton
1961-2018
It is with broken hearts that the family of Stephen Michael
Hamilton sadly announce his passing on September 7, 2018 at the age of
57. Stephen was a fighter right from the
start, meeting and overcoming challenges all his
life.
Diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, he had total vision
loss by the age of 10. After a gut wrenching decision, our
parents decided that the Halifax School for the Blind was
Stephen’s best chance for a successful future, so he spent
the next 8 years going back and forth between Fredericton and Halifax,
two cities he loved. We know those years were tough on our
parents, but because of their love, Stephen grew to be a very
independent and confident young man.
Upon his graduation from school, he returned to Fredericton
and could be seen walking around town with his trusty white
cane. He loved to be out and about, talking with the people
he met, making wise cracks, and generally meeting each day with good
humour and a smile. One of his favourite spots was “Wacky
Wheatley’s”, as music was his pas-sion.
It was there he developed a lifelong friendship with Pat Morrison who
always maintained contact with Stephen, even after he left
Fredericton. Stephen loved his CB radio, visiting his
Woodstock relatives, Haggerty’s Cove, playing cards,
listening to mu-sic, going to concerts, driving in fast cars or on
tractors, shifting gears, teasing his sisters and, on a boring day,
hopping on a bicycle (didn’t matter he couldn’t
see) and riding un-til he drove into
something.
From Fredericton, he decided to move on to the city of
Toronto where the main office of the CNIB was located. He
wanted to live by himself and get a job, “like any other
sight-ed person my age would do”, he said. As a
family we were terrified, but not Stephen, so in Sept of 1985 he moved
to Toronto. He underwent mobility training, learning to find
his way around Toronto better than most sighted people. He
took the bus, subways, trains, planes and any other form of
transportation required to get to where he wanted to go. He
lived by himself, cooked, cleaned and folded laundry better than
anyone we knew. He was trained as an audio technician,
working at that until the digital era arrived and took away the job he
loved. Undeterred, he had many other odd jobs. He
worked in a canteen, packaged Chia Pets (after which he hated Chia
Pets) packaged matches, and acted as an Extra on movie sets.
We remember Stephen telling us about working with actor Leslie
Neilson, where his job was to point him in the direction that the
other guy ran. Later on, he volunteered for the CNIB where he carried
out many volunteer activities, including speaking engagements on the
experience of being blind and using guide dogs.
Stephen also applied for, and was accepted into, the Guide
Dog Training Program in Oakville, Ontario – and thus entered Nugget,
the first of several “furry family
members”. Nugget was a high-spirited and loveable
dog, totally devoted to Stephen. He was also very
mischievous, stealing toast from a lady’s plate in a
restaurant, skipping stairs on a stairway and sneaking under the seat
on a plane to get treats from the people behind
him. Nugget “served” Stephen for
13 beautiful years, followed by Corey, Teddy and
Laker.
Stephen’s life also came with many challenges as
anyone with a disability knows, and his inability to maintain
employment brought him great frustration. It is sad that our
society still struggles with inclusion for the disabled. Stephen and
his guide dogs were refused service in restaurants on many occasions,
but that didn’t stop him. A quick call to police,
arrival on scene, conversations were had, and Stephen would get his
service. Cabbies drove away from him when they noticed his
guide dogs. Stephen would solicit assis-tance from witnesses
nearby resulting in charges and convictions of the guilty parties. He
was bullied and harassed, had money stolen from him, was pushed and
knocked over, but never deterred. He always stayed positive,
and felt that there was nothing that a big glass of beer, music and
good company couldn’t fix.
Eventually Stephen decided to return to Fredericton, but
within mere days of planning his return, the Love of his Life
unexpectedly appeared. That first date with Lisa went off
without a hitch – that is, until she guided Stephen right into a
telephone pole. That was it, Stephen was hooked!
They were married in Oshawa, Ontario in August of 2001 and have been
inseparable ever since. Stephen took on his role as husband
with dedication and enthusiasm. He adored Lisa and was very protective
of her, as she was of him. They went everywhere together, did
everything together, and established a network of loyal and supportive
friends together, all of whom have stood by them through their
chal-lenges, the last one being Stephen’s cancer diagnosis
in 2016. He faced that battle with determination
and resolve, and with little complaint – that is, until close to the
end. Ste-phen was not used to obstacles that he
couldn’t overcome and he was not happy when there were no
options left. He felt there was still much to do, many places to see
and so much more love to give Lisa, his family and
friends.
Stephen leaves a legacy of inspiration among those whose
lives he touched along the way. He did not
“see” the world as we do – he
“saw” with his heart. He could see through
a person’s veneer and detect kindness, honesty, compassion,
or a lack thereof. If someone were being dishonest, unkind or
disrespectful, he would call the person on that. For Stephen, a kind
voice mattered more than a person’s looks or
status. A place to meet was more important than its size or
decor. A beautiful sound was more important than who made it
or where it came from. The ability to touch and feel things
gave him a joy that we will never know.
And now, Stephen is in a place where he won’t need
his sunglasses or his white cane, and where his kind heart and his
ability to love unconditionally will be all that
matters.
Stephen, you will always be our hero.
Born on September 2, 1961, he was the special chosen son of
the late Edward George Hamilton and Irma Verla Hamilton (Collings) of
Fredericton. He is survived by his de-voted wife of 17
years, Lisa Hamilton (St. Louis) of Oshawa, Ontario; sisters Cynthia
Hamilton Urquhart (Stephen) of Calgary, AB and Bonnie Hamilton Bogart
(James) of Gagetown, NB; nephews and nieces Kevin McFarlane (Gisele),
Mark McFarlane (Rachel Lewis), Heather Pike (Dale), Benjamin McFarlane
(Terri Lavoie); Frank Jones (Erin), Stephen Jones, Adam Urquhart, Chad
Urquhart, Lauren Urquhart; and many great-nieces and
great-nephews. He also leaves to mourn Lisa’s
parents, Linda and Donald St. Louis of Pickering, ON; Lisa’s
brother Richard (Vickie) St. Louis of St. Louis, Missouri; Donna
Hamilton (Robert) and so many other Woodstock, N.B. relatives; Pauline
Thompson of Ottawa, ON; and Philip McFarlane of Rothesay,
N.B. Special mention is required for Mike Webb and Rene
Blanchard who continued to contact and support Stephen with their
friendship from his earlier years in Fredericton. His
special Oshawa friends: Pauline and Les Spencer and Teresa Commodaro
who provided such kindness to Stephen and Lisa throughout this
journey; the wonderful neighbours in Stephen’s apartment
complex and those in the surrounding areas that have provided their
friendships over the years.
Our family would like to thank the nurses and doctors at the
Palliative Care Unit of the Lakeridge Health Centre in Oshawa, Dr.
Danny Enepekides and Elsa Benjamin of the Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto
and Dr. Navdeep Nijhawan of the Oshawa Medical Clinic.
For those who wish, donations in Steve’s memory may
be made to the Palliative Care Unit of the Lakeridge Health Centre,
Oshawa through their website at lakeridgehealth-foundation.com , or
the Wheels of Hope, the transportation service provided by the
Canadian Cancer Society through their website at
www.cancer.ca.
Final arrangements are incomplete at this time, but will be
available through the McAdams Funeral Home website at
www.mcadamsfh.com.
www.mcadamsfh.com
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Stephen Michael Hamilton 19612018..
Death notice for the town of: Fredericton, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick