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This video is the Torchlight
Parade and 21 Jump Salute 12/31/2003
If you would like to contribute a
writing or picture to this page, please email it to
shelly@palmer.net
Click here to see what has been written about Stevek
at eastfree.org
The Stratton Community mourns the loss of
Steve “Stevek” Kenney, a long-time member of the Stratton family. Stevek was
the inspiration and energy behind our Allegro and Freestyle programs,
sharing his passion for the sport of freestyle skiing and enriching the
lives of hundreds of young people. He was coach, mentor and so much more.
In his 30 years at Stratton, Stevek was at
the heart of an extended family that transcends time and distance. Stevek
personified those values we hold deeply and that we hope to pass onto our
children, friends, and family. We are blessed for the opportunity to have
had Stevek in our lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with all his family
and friends in this most difficult time. - Stratton Mountain Corporation
In memoriam of
Stephen G. Kenney: a passionate skier and loving friend!
by Anna Wieser (Reprinted from Mountain Spirit Winter 2004)
Stratton Mountain is a very special place
to many people for its magical setting but mostly for its passionate people
because with their commitment, enthusiasm and caring they help create
extraordinary memories for countless generations of skiers and mountain
lovers.
Stephen (Stevek for family and friends)
escaping the Hungarian revolution, came to the States in 1957 at the age of
12, with his mom and 2 sisters. they quickly adjusted to their new
lives. Stevek successfully attended High School and college until he
received his Masters of Science from the University of Michigan in 1970.
After working for Nash Engineering, he entered the insurance business and
formed a partnership with his mother. They worked together for 26
years until he was killed by a car on November 27, 2003. In 1972 he
began his "true love" career as a Ski Instructor at Stratton Mountain Ski
School. In 1980 he took over the freestyle program from Stephan
Scharntanner; there were then 15 kids enrolled in the program and there are
now 240 skiers from ages 6 to 18. He organized the Allegro programs
for kids and adults who want to ski mostly for fun. More than 1,000
skiers including five US Ski Team members and two US National champions have
passed through Stevek's programs!
Stevek took interest in each and every kid;
he know their names even years after the left Stratton. He became a
mentor, a friend, a counselor to countless families in Stratton and in New
York.
He was a guy always on the run, always in a
hurry but he always had time to look you in the eye and ask you "How are
you?" with a smile that kept you warm all day, no matter how cold it was
outside!
His memorial service a Carnegie hall in New
York city brought together more than 600 people to celebrate his life: We
shall always remember Stevek as a man who gave of himself generously,
passionately and unselfishly.
there have been talks among Stratton
Mountain Officials to name a ski trail after him. We hope that becomes
true to honor his 31 years of dedication to Stratton: his name will be
printed on the ski trail maps, his memory will always be imprinted in the
hears of the people he touched.
Farewell Stevek. May the Lord embrace
you in His eternal peace!
The 6pm Mass on Saturday, February 21,
2004 will be said in Stevek's memory.
|
Stevek's Ramp Camp
a video tribute by
Andrew Sufian
Now available on DVD or VHS
Proceeds to benefit the Stevek Foundation |
“Our hearts ache
for the unexpected loss of a man who was taken from life much too soon. Our
guardian angel in life and now for eternity. A man who measured success by
the smiles he put on others faces and the happiness he brought to others
lives. He was a source of inspiration and strength for so many. His
selflessness cannot be expressed in words: it is felt in the hearts of all
those who were truly blessed to have been touched by his love.” - Jessica
Weinstein, a dear friend
Stevek Was An Instructor Of Life
By Steve Jacobson
December 7, 2003
There's a memorial service Wednesday at Carnegie Hall for a ski instructor.
A ski instructor at Carnegie Hall? How does a ski instructor get to Carnegie
Hall? He skis 10,000 bump runs down the World Cup trail, wipes 10,000 noses
every winter and influences as many lives. He wasn't a ski instructor, he
was Stevek.
He was Steve Kenney to the accounting department at Stratton Mountain in
Vermont, but even his sisters called him Stevek. His mother called him
Istvan.
People were glad to see him. He'd hug them and he'd say, "Can't talk; got to
run." And he'd be off, baseball cap turned backwards to accommodate his
goggles and two-way radio on his chest. If something important had to be
said, he'd say, "Walk with me."
A long time ago at Stratton, instructors had names on their knit caps, but
there was another Steve on the mountain, so our guy got STEVEK. It sounded
right for a man who's family left Budapest in 1957 after Soviet tanks
quelled an uprising when Istvan was 11.
Istvan, his mother and two sisters were on a slow train to the border
joining Austria. When Russian guards came aboard, their guide fled. They got
off and lugged their possessions toward the border, hugging the earth in
terror each time a flare lit the sky.
Stevek got a masters degree with honors from Michigan. He was a 120-pound
waterboy for the football team. He was getting out of a taxi on Park Avenue
in Manhattan the night before Thanksgiving last and was struck by another
vehicle. He was 58.
Neila, my daughter, wept as she told me. At Stratton, sentiment poured onto
a 200-foot scroll a woman named Paula Pastore likened to a Torah. Stevek
told gentle Jewish jokes and he wasn't Jewish.
He was as important as any individual in building freestyle skiing from its
origins in the East as renegade "hot-dogging" to Olympic medal sport. He was
a technical director on the international level.
More than that, he was a Pied Piper. He taught manners to young skiers. On
weekends and holiday weeks he made a difference in the lives of kids who
needed difference. Stevek made a living selling insurance in New York but
management people at Stratton wonder how he found time for the insurance
business.
"We had our conflicts," Stratton general manager Sky Foulkes said. "I'd tell
him he couldn't build a jump and he'd go ahead and do it anyway. If he made
good skiers, fine. He had a bigger mission: to raise good kids."
He'd find out if one of his skiers was having school in trouble. Stevek
would let him ski with the group, but sent him home to do homework later
when the others went to swim.
Skiing can be a money pit and Stevek found money from freestyle
organizations or his own pocket to help kids ski. Stevek would find people
with skis in the garage; he'd cajole ski sales reps or ski manufacturers to
make it happen.
He'd take groups on trips to competitions and kids would grumble at Stevek's
discipline. He didn't want younger ones mingling with the older. No girls in
boys' rooms. Doors open after lights out.
He worked with Bruce Bolesky, who became a national champion and a U.S.
Olympian in freestyle. Hayley Wolff Kissel grew up as one of Stevek's
freestylers on the bump, turn, bump, turn of World Cup and became national
champion and world champion in moguls.
He took outstanding skiers to A-level competition. For the outstanding
tryers he created a B-level competition. He made the least good of them
special.
Both my kids, Mat and Neila, skied for him. Neila coached six winters for
him. Once he even sat still at our dinner table. He came to Neila's bat
mitzvah; those things were important.
At first, we thought he skied to make insurance contacts. "You thought he
was a con artist," Mat recalled, "but when the transaction was over, you had
an extra $5 in your pocket. He got you to do things you didn't think you
could do. He never asked you to do something he didn't think you could do."
He was a guardian angel.
"Stevek never knew the impact he had on people's lives," Neila wrote to a
memorial web site. "We just knew he'd be this whirlwind running through the
Stratton base lodge, or running up to line-up, or running to get someone
skis or poles out of the many in his locker - always running somewhere.
" ... He never had time to talk, but you always knew he cared. He was my
teacher, my coach, my boss, a pain in the ass, but mostly, he was my friend.
I will miss him."
When she introduced her boyfriend to Stevek, they shook hands and Stevek, of
course, said, "Got to run." Then he turned back and said, "Meet you in the
Bear's Den for a drink," he said. It was important.
He coaxed Hayley Kissel, mother of two, to coach more often. "He bragged
about my success," she said. "And he wanted those boys in his program to
learn to respect women."
Nobody is irreplaceable, but Foulkes, the general manager, said Stevek was
close. Stratton plans on renaming a trail for him, probably World Cup. Maybe
call it Stevek's World.
Right now, a brand new pair of Rossignols are bolted to a tree at Riverside
Cemetery in Norwalk, Conn.
Copyright (c) 2003, Newsday, Inc.
Stephen G. Kenney
KENNEY-Stephen G. Stevek made everyone in his life feel like they were his
best friend. His limitless devotion to his Stratton Freestyle Team and
Allegro Family was truly inspirational. He was our coach, confidante,
guardian, enforcer, teacher, organizer, joke teller, a trainer of young
minds, and giver of the world's greatest hugs - our loss is profound. To
honor Stevek, we will keep his dreams alive, ski through our tears, and
remember a unique soul who will live in our hearts forever. Debbie, Shelly,
Alexis, Brent & Jared Palmer
Published in the New York Times from 12/9/2003 - 12/10/2003.
There is a permanent guest book on the New
York Times Website that accompanies this notice.
Please click here to view and add to it.
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