Judith (Judi) Claire Stevenson November 23, 1946 - March 19, 2026
“When it is over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.”
“When Death Comes” — Mary Oliver
Our dear friend Judi possessed a fierce, wide-ranging creative intelligence. She was a community-minded social activist, feminist and environmentalist, writer and researcher, an avid photographer, traveler, art aficionado, a loving and loyal sister and friend, and lifelong cat-lover.
Judi spent her early years in Nanaimo, BC, where her mother Gerry (née Geraldine Gertrude Browne), a teacher, encouraged learning, and the rich and fascinating time spent with her scientist father Cam (James Cameron Stevenson) at the Pacific Biological Station established her passionate love of nature and enduring interest in environmental justice. After early high school in Vancouver, Judi’s family (now including her beloved younger sister Barbara), moved to Ottawa where Judi finished high school. She embraced student activism during her years at Carleton University, and developed life-long friendships with Marg Yeo, David Rayside, and others who recognized her keen intelligence and warmth. Graduating with an MA in Sociology, Judi was in London for several years, where she mixed further academic work with extensive European travels.
Back in Toronto, Judi built an exciting career in research and writing for documentary films. She was particularly proud of her work for TVOntario in the 1970s and 1980s including the documentary series “North of Sixty” that took her across the Canadian north. During that period Judi wrote and co-produced the award-winning, independent documentary on Canadian painter Alex Colville, “Alex Colville: of The Splendour Order” (1984). She was also a researcher and writer for the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, from 1991-1996.
Judi fell in love with Salt Spring on her first visit in 1989. By the next year she was building her house on her beloved Mt Belcher, moving back and forth between the island and her Toronto-based life.
After relocating to the island full-time in 1995, Judi began working with SWOVA (Salt Spring Women Opposed to Violence and Abuse). For over a decade as senior researcher and evaluator, Judi's work laid the foundation and development for the Respectful Relationships (R+R) program - pioneering work that gained it national recognition as an evidence-based, best practice program. Always meticulous in her design and thought-processes, Judi was a warrior for women's and children's rights to be safe and live their lives to the fullest.
“Mapping the Islands of the Salish Sea“ was a millennial community project led by Judi Stevenson and Sheila Harrington, with Briony Penn. From 1999 to 2005 the Mapping Project brought together over 3,000 people and thirty regional artists, culminating in the creation of more than 17 gorgeously rendered art-maps of the region, and in the publication of the award-winning book, “Islands in the Salish Sea: A Community Atlas”, (LTABC & Touchwood Editions 2005).
Over the years Judi conducted numerous research, writing and media projects on the effects of fluoride, the missionary William Duncan in Metlakatla, and homeopathy (for CBC Ideas). In 2010, she researched and wrote a fascinating and quirky monthly column for the Salt Spring newspaper, The Driftwood, entitled “My Year of Living Climatically,” discussing climate change at the local and personal level. Active politically for many years, she wrote articles, organized events, and supported political candidates and environmental campaigns and projects.
In her last years, Judi gradually disappeared from community engagement as she fought the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Supported for years by a close circle of friends, she was tenderly cared for by her unstintingly supportive partner, John Borst, private carers (Wendy & Marianne) and the Embrace team led by Brandy Borley. Last year she relocated to Greenwoods Longterm Care Residence, where her care was augmented by their caring professional staff.
Judith Claire Stevenson slipped away peacefully at Greenwoods early Thursday, March 19, 2026. She was interred in a private ceremony at the Green Burial site on Salt Spring. If desired, a donation to the Salt Spring Island Conservancy or Greenwoods Eldercare Society would be a tribute to a remarkable woman and dear friend to many, both here and in the east, who will be deeply missed.
