Obituary of Steve Czapalay

Twilight and evening bell And after that the dark And may there be no sadness of farewell When I embark. (Tennyson) Steve Czapalay was born on December 6, 1934 in Springhill, Nova Scotia. He passed away on March 16, 2017 in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Steve studied at Mount Allison University, the Nova Scotia Teacher’s College, Sir George Williams University (now Concordia), and St. Francis Xavier University. His teaching career took him to Hudson, Quebec and Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia, before he retired to Bridgewater. After retirement, Steve spent several months each year in the Czech Republic where he met and married Radka Skypalova. Steve will be remembered for his life-long love of the outdoors and his love of mathematics, two passions that he passed on with varying degrees of success to his children and grandchildren. Quite often, these passions were combined in lengthy lectures about the beauty of math in nature – fractals in snowflakes and the Fibonacci sequence in beehives being favorite illustrations of this perfect symmetry. Steve had legendary stamina, especially when it came to outdoor activities. He enjoyed many sports and excelled at badminton in his youth. Steve’s favorite outdoor activity was fishing and he spent many years locating and carefully recording all the best trout fishing lakes and streams in southwest Nova Scotia. Dad enjoyed telling his fishing and hunting stories and there were lots of stories to tell – all completely true of course; being a mathematician Dad was always very accurate in details regarding the size of his catches. Dad enjoyed gardening, studying languages, traveling, music, a nice barbecued steak, and a glass of red wine. Dad was a lifelong teacher and he continued to “teach” those around him at every opportunity. After retirement, Dad taught English in the Czech Republic and learned to speak Czech. He enjoyed long, exploratory hikes in the woods – once traveling more than 100 km with only a compass, a plastic sheet, and a bag of apples. He entertained himself on his hikes by conjugating verbs in French and reviewing the trickier aspects of Czech grammar. Knowing Dad, he would have considered a math problem or two as well. Even with a lifetime of lessons from Dad, it seems too soon to say farewell. Steve will be forever remembered for his keen sense of humour, his wisdom and his curiosity. Steve is survived by his wife, Radka in the Czech Republic, his three children, Ava (John) in Halifax, Stefan (Diana) in Toronto, and Yvette D’Eon (Raymond) in Pubnico, his eleven grandchildren, and his former wife, Joan, in Dartmouth. Steve was predeceased by his eldest son, Randall, in 2012, his brother Doug, and his parents, Istvan and Theresa. Cremation has taken place. Private family service will be held at a later date. Donations may be made to the Diabetes Association or charity of choice. Online condolences may be made by visiting: www.sweenysfuneralhome.com. True pleasure lies not in the discovery of truth, but in the search for it. (Tolstoy)