In memory of Deb Steacy

In memory of Deb Steacy

Deb Steacy was a long-time booster club member and volunteer coordinator for Operation Red Nose. She passed away suddenly in April 2014 at the age of 58.

Having been a successful CIAU varsity athlete herself, Steacy understood the value of being a student-athlete. She supported all three of her children’s university and athletic careers. Each of Jim, Sean and Heather Steacy were highly decorated Pronghorn Athletes. Jim and Heather each reached the pinnacle of the track and field world representing Canada at the Olympic Games in the hammer throw. Jim, a two-time Olympian, competed in Beijing (2008) and London (2012), while Heather joined Jim in London. Ji represented Canada at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014.

It was the involvement of her three children — Jim, Sean and Heather — in University of Lethbridge athletics that initially led Debby to join the Pronghorn Booster Club, which raises funds for University athletics through a variety of programs and initiatives. But her passion for the success of all of the University’s athletes led her to actively volunteer for more than a decade. During that time, she was vital in helping generate more than $500,000 for Pronghorn Athletics.

Beyond her involvement with University Athletics, Debby spent countless hours in her community volunteering for various causes and organizations. She was a director-at-large of the Athletics Alberta board of directors, secretary of the Southern Alberta Track and Field Council, and an Athletics Alberta track and field official. She was extensively involved in local school councils, participated in two Lethbridge School District No. 51 committees and was a classroom volunteer for more than 15 years. Debby was on the board of directors for the Southern Alberta Professional Development Consortium, and was a member of the planning committee for Weaving Words: Extending Literature Through the Fine Arts Conference. She was also a Royal Conservatory of Music piano and theory teacher and served as an accompanist for school choirs.

Impact

Deb Steacy was a huge advocate for using the funds raised through the booster club to recognize not only athletic achievement but academic excellence. In 2014, the University of Lethbridge Pronghorn Athletics announced that the department was renaming its Academic All-Canadian Scholarship to pay tribute to Deb.

Scholarships