Lucas Stiefvater is celebrating 50 years in Canada

On a warm sunny morning in May 1972, a bus carrying Lucas Stiefvater rolled into Vancouver. White caps greeted him, as snowcapped mountains twinkled in the distance. With the Vancouver skyline looming, he knew he had come home. All, a welcome sight after the trip of a lifetime – $99 for 99 days on the Greyhound Bus traversing Central and North America.

Born and raised in a small village in the Black Forest in Germany, Stiefvater never imagined the gifts that Canada would offer him. He applied the training he received in Germany as a chef and in hotel management to the many opportunities that presented themselves over the past 50 years. From a humble start as a waiter at the Hotel Georgia and night security at the Holiday Inn, Stiefvater was constantly on the look out for opportunity. In the early years he co-owned a chain of restaurants called the Copper Kettle in the Lower Mainland, and Clayoquot Lodge on Stubbs Island off the coast of Tofino. Opportunity took him to Hawaii, Smithers, Maple Ridge, Port Alberni, Courtenay and Campbell River. Always looking for adventure and opportunity, with his late wife Annemarie and their sons, Daniel and Jordan, they created an amazing life.

Stiefvater, now retired with his wife Cheryl, looks back on the past 50 years, filled with a sense of both awe and gratitude.

“I experienced challenges and opportunities, good times and my share of tough times, laughter and tears and I would not change a single moment of it. Canada is the best country on Earth, and I am honoured to play in the most beautiful sandbox called Vancouver Island. I am blessed with an abundance of friends, and a large, blended family. I am the luckiest man alive.”

To celebrate his 50 years in Canada, Stiefvater would like to give back to the community that is his home. To do this he partnered with two charities that are near and dear to his heart, the Comox Valley Food Bank and the Comox Valley Land Trust. If you are interested in helping Stiefvater celebrate and acknowledge the Comox Valley, you can donate to both or either of these charities and he will match donations made in July 2022 up to $25,000 for each charity.

This generosity means donations to CVLT’s Land Securement Fund in July 2022 are effectively tripled as they will be matched by both Lucas Stiefvater and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Please consider making a donation here and in the optional box called “Write a private message to us” include “In honour of Lucas.”