Steve was born on a farm in a tiny village in southern Hungary on May 17, 1935. His childhood was filled with adventure, mischief and hard work. To further his education, he moved away from home to attend school, eventually enrolling in the Sopron University School of Forestry.

This choice would prove to define his life. In 1956, history came for Steve and his fellow students as they found themselves embroiled in the Hungarian Revolution. Outgunned, outmanned and outmaneuvered, Steve and his compatriots did what they could to hold off the Russian crackdown, but they were eventually pushed all the way to the Austrian border. This gave them minutes to decide their future; Surrender and face the wrath of the secret police or escape into Austria and hope for the best. Steve and most of the others chose Austria.

For months, this group of several hundred students, professors and their families lived in refugee camps, waiting to learn of their future. They started a letter writing campaign searching for a home, and eventually Canada answered. Plans swung into place to ship the entire Sopron Forestry School to their new home at the University of British Columbia, where they would continue their studies together.

Steve’s new life in Canada wasn’t easy. It was one of remote logging camps and hard days in the wild, jungle-like bush of Vancouver Island as he earned his way through University. After several years of study, Steve and 140 other Sopron students graduated and began to ply their trade across Canada and the USA. This group formed a lifelong bond and continued to meet regularly in reunions and gatherings throughout the years.

The hard physical work continued through Steve’s first few years as a professional forester, again living in camps and struggling through the rugged forests of Vancouver Island. Eventually, he moved to Prince George where his life took yet another turn, and his stay in Canada became permanent.

In 1964, Steve met Joan Yorston, the love of his life, marrying her in 1966. They moved to Kamloops in 1973, folded three children into the mix, and lived out the next 52 years of their lives in the same house on a hill in the South of Kamloops.

As the Chief Forester for Weyerhaeuser Canada, Steve had a large influence on forestry practices in British Columbia, culminating with is work on Tree Farm Licence 35, located to the North West of Kamloops, where he sought to implement his ideas for sustainable forestry. Over his years as a forester he would win many awards and hold many honours, including the Association of BC Professional Foresters Distinguished Forester Award in 1998, and President of the Canadian Institute of Forestry from 1995-1996, before retiring in 1999.

Outside of work, Steve poured his life into his family and his garden, as well as traveling the world with Joan, documenting every occasion with a trusty camera in hand. Cooking delicious meals for family and friends brought him joy, and he was famous for his incredible stuffed peppers. Steve loved to work with his hands, demonstrated by his nearly single-handed construction of a cabin on the shores of Shuswap Lake. He spent countless hours on the sidelines of baseball diamonds, soccer pitches, hockey rinks and ski hills, supporting his children in their endeavors, even though his preference was to hunt and forage for mushrooms. Steve was a person of high expectations, firm but fair, that you hated to disappoint. He was a man of few words, but people stopped and listened when he spoke.

Steve is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Joan, his three children Stephen (Jane) Tolnai, Lisa (Mike) Wood, David (Andrea) Tolnai, six grandchildren (Dawson, Jade, Nina, Bella, Emilia and Stevie), his brother Joe (Rosie) Tolnai, niece Eszter, great niece Kitty, and great-great niece Emily, as well as his brother and sister-in-law, Don (Denise) Yorston and Janet Yorston.A Celebration of Life will be held on May 17th, at 2PM in the Mountain Room, at the Thomson Rivers University Conference Centre on what would have been Steve’s 90th birthday. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.