Richard Edward Stephens

The family of Richard (Ric) Edward Stephens announces his passing on October 12, 2026 in Palliative Care at St. Paul's Hospital, Saskatoon. Ric was born July 19, 1966 in Saskatoon to Phyllis and Edward Stephens. Phyllis was a nurse and Ed was in the RCMP and along with his older sister, Andrea, they moved often within Saskatchewan. Ric grew up in Rosetown, Lloydminster, Bengough, Regina and back to Saskatoon.

For grades 9 & 10, Ric attended St. John's Anglican Cathedral Boys School in Selkirk, Manitoba. While there, he participated in the school's extensive outdoor program that included epic canoe trips, snowshoe races and practical skills like beekeeping, dog sledding and sausage making. There may have been an incident involving a borrowed vehicle or two in an attempt to return early from the boarding school. His sister Andrea may or may not have rescued him when he ran out of gas on the way home.

Ed bought a computer when Ric was in grade 10, and he was instantly fascinated. He attended City Park High School in Saskatoon for grades 11 & 12 so he could have access to computers. After High School he continued in that field at the University of Saskatchewan.

Ric's son Tyler was born in 1989, followed by his second son, Tanis, in 1991. The three of them lived together in Saskatoon. Ric built up a computer consulting business, while the boys attended school, played football and worked on their motorcycles, sometimes in the living room.

In 2007, Ric started attending Burning Man, an annual arts festival in the Nevada Desert. In 2010, he met his wife Clare while volunteering with the Gayte, Perimeter and Exodus department at the event. He was kinda famous at Burning Man for having had the largest law enforcement response while working on Perimeter. He spotted a person with a gun tucked in his pants, called in the situation, and the next thing he saw was what he described as the "Flight of the Valkyries" in his rear view mirror. Over 20 law enforcement officers were racing to the scene in every type of vehicle with lights flashing. The gun turned out to be a starter pistol. Ric and Clare continued to work at Burning Man together until 2017.

Living in separate countries, Ric and Clare maintained a long distance relationship for many years. They finally married in 2016, and Clare joined Ric in Canada full time in 2020 when they bought a home in Langham, SK. They enjoyed working on home projects together, road trips, going for donuts or breakfast, weekly dates that consisted of grocery shopping, and country drives.

In 2013 Ric started working for Earnst and Young as a computer support specialist. On his first day of work, he shattered a glass coffee table within the first five minutes of being there. As he described it, he put his backpack down on the table, and it exploded, spewing glass as far as twenty feet away. He regularly repeated the story to new employees at the firm when they seemed to be struggling or nervous on their first day.

Ric listened to a lot of music and had very eclectic taste. His music feed often included EDM, SKA, The Dead South, Female Mariachi, Fat Boy Slim and several world music artists. He liked Science Fiction, was a big fan of Dr. Who, liked vintage science fiction shows and movies, and watching British mystery shows and MASH with his wife, Clare.

Sailing on his father's boat was another favourite activity, at both Candle Lake where the family kept a cottage and later at Lac LaRonge where his parents lived for a time. He said when he was sailing, the water talked to him, helping him guide the boat as he sailed. He also learned to wind surf and scuba dive.

Ric was quiet and quirky and funny and kind, and he died after a very unfair fight with pancreatic cancer. He was predeceased by his parents, Phyl and Ed, and step-mom, Edie Huffman, and is survived by his wife, Clarisa Morales, sons Tyler (Sydney Constantinoff) and Tanis (Genevieve Engel), sister, Andrea Holmes (Garry); nephew, Jesse Holmes, niece, Carmen Holmes (Arjun Villanueva), great nephew, Luther Villanueva, Uncle Ricardo Stephens, Aunt Marjorie Lothian, Clare's sons, Wyatt (Chelsea) and Nolan Roberts, dear cousins and friends. He will also be mourned by his two dogs, Mojito and Bella, and cat, Lady Winnifred, who he called "Kitten."

A Funeral Service for Ric will be held at St. Stephen's Anglican Church, 10 Grosvenor Crescent, Saskatoon, on Thursday, October 22nd at 1:30p.m.

Donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society in lieu of flowers by using this link: https://shorturl.at/iQO78

We want to thank all of the care providers and Cancer Society Volunteers for their dedicated and professional support throughout this very tough time.

Arrangements entrusted to Saskatoon Funeral Home, 306-244-5577.