Hi, my name is Austin Davies. I'm one of a group of friends of Dean Steeves on Pender Island. Dean is well known in our community. He’s an artist and a musician, best known for pulling his electric piano out of the back of his truck on a sunny day, setting up, and playing for hours, purely to bring joy to others. Always smiling, his tender and humble spirit shines through to anyone that crosses his path. You may not know Dean by name, but you probably know Dean!

Dean is a self-made man. If you take the time to sit with him, he will share stories of his life that few of us can even imagine. In 2010, Dean decided to move to Pender Island and began to build a small house on his heavily wooded property on Canal Road. He designed a small, post and beam structure, dug and cribbed the foundation by hand, felled and sawed all of the beams on a wood mill he designed and made by hand, using fir trees from the land. He hand-fabricated, welded and painted the brackets for the structure. He gathered cedar stumps and logs from the beach to hand-split the shakes for the roof. He gathered “just the right” river rocks to complete the stone murals on the exterior walls. For Dean, everything is a work of art. Dean says: “There’s a right way to do things…no matter how long it takes”.

Dean is now 79 years old, and has worked hard and been generous to everyone. He lives on his monthly OAS/CPP and he needs our help. We have gathered around Dean with the goal of completing his home by the time he turns 80 this fall. The house exterior is complete, but a septic system is needed, and the interior must be developed and finished, including electrical, plumbing, fixtures, etc. There is also final grading and back-filling, exterior stairs and railings to complete. Paul Hamson, one of Pender Island’s best Contractors, is engaged and the budget is $100,000+. As part of the project, Paul and Steve Alvey are reaching out to trades and experienced DIYers on the island to contribute as they are willing and able.

Your financial contribution through GoFundMe will go directly towards the work on Dean's house and a final accounting will be available to donors.

We are imagining Dean’s 80th birthday party, with his family from across Canada, and friends from Pender Island, enjoying his newly completed home!

In preparation for building, on March 21, 10 – 2PM, we are holding a volunteer clean-up/pack-up of Dean’s property day! If you’re on the island and can lend a hand, please call Steve Alvey [phone redacted].

Thank you for your generous support for Dean.