Stephen Skinner was born October 13, 1934 in St.Jacques, Newfoundland, to Ralph and Cora Skinner, and passed away peacefully at the Shuswap Lake General Hospital in Salmon Arm, British Columbia on July 14, 2019 after a long and brave battle with cancer.
As a teenager Dad moved to North Sydney, Nova Scotia to finish high school where he met the love of his life of 63 years, Ethel (Johnston). He joined the Royal Canadian Airforce as a radio operator in the early 1950's. After an honorable discharge he worked as a deck hand on oil tankers based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia before moving to Sarnia, Ontario to work for Canadian National Railway. In 1956 Mom and Dad were married and in 1957 Kris arrived, followed two years later by Greg. By this time Dad had left CNR and was working for Dow Chemical in Sarnia. In 1967 our family left southern Ontario and headed back to the Maritimes where Dad worked at the Heavy Water plant in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. In 1969, another major move found us in Pincher Creek, Alberta where Dad worked at the Shell Waterton Gas Plant. In 1974, Dad began working for Atlantic Richfield on an offshore platform in the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia. In 1984 Dad accepted a promotion to Supervisor and he and Mom moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates where they stayed until Dad's retirement in 1991. After a short period of retirement, it became obvious that Dad didn't like to stay put for long and he accepted a position in Azerbaijan on an offshore facility. We finally convinced Dad to come home for good in 1995. Dad and Mom then divided their time between Salmon Arm and San Jose del Cabo in Mexico.
While Dad was certainly successful in his work life, it was mostly a means toward pursuing his other interests. While working in Indonesia and the UAE, Dad and Mom travelled the world. Throughout his life Dad remained passionate about fishing, sailing, hiking, gardening, skiing, golfing and especially family and travel. Dad was also accomplished in black and white photographic art through working in his own darkroom. He developed his photographs further turning them into sketches and then paintings in water colour and mixed media.
Dad is survived by his wife Ethel, sons Kris (Becky) and Greg (Daylen), grandchildren, Celina, Stephen and Kristen as well as many nieces and nephews. Dad was predeceased by his parents and sisters, Hilda, Gladys and Sadie and by brothers, Robert, Launce and James.
Dad will be deeply missed by his family and all those who knew and loved him. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Dad's name to your local cancer clinic or to the Shuswap Hospital Foundation.
Condolences may be expressed at www.bowersfuneralservice.com
Bowers Funeral Service