Among the tight-knit community of members and staff at Capilano Golf and Country Club, Steve Anderson was someone who brightened the day for all those around him.
So when the North Vancouver man suddenly died from a serious stroke at the course in February, it shocked the entire Capilano family, said club member Geoff Stollery. In the years prior, Stollery said he really got to know and admire Anderson, 40, who worked at the 19th hole restaurant and then as retail manager at the new pro shop.
News of his death left Stollery stunned.
“In those moments you wonder: ‘This is so horribly tragic – what can we do?’” he said.
A few days later, Stollery set up a GoFundMe campaign, primarily to support Anderson’s partner Jacqueline Calli – who was also a well-liked employee at the club – and any costs she would incur.
Then, just a few weeks after the campaign was created, members of the family announced further news that the couple was newly pregnant.
“Steve was very excited at the prospect of becoming a father, and it is profoundly tragic that he won’t be able to be there to support Jacqueline, or get the opportunity to watch their child grow and witness all of life’s milestones,” said Evan Kendrick, Anderson’s best friend.
“While the Anderson and Calli families are doing everything they can to support Jacqueline and child, this new addition brings added purpose to the GoFundMe to assist Jacqueline in navigating the way forward,” he wrote on the campaign page.
Support for the campaign started strong, and then took on a whole other dimension in light of their expected child, Stollery explained. To date, the GoFundMe has raised more than $95,000.
Reflecting the outpouring of support the family received, North Vancouver has been recognized by GoFundMe as Canada’s second-most generous community of 2023. Over the year, GoFundMe recorded more than 11,647 donations from the city’s population of 58,000.
Stollery said that he’s always known the North Shore to be a giving community, while emphasizing that donations to Anderson’s campaign came in from many other places as well, including Vancouver Island, where he had many friends, and his childhood community on the Sunshine Coast.
While nothing could dull the pain from Anderson’s tragic passing, the GoFundMe platform allowed a lot of different people to support Calli, Stollery said.
“The GoFundMe platform gave us an avenue to help Jackie pick up the pieces, and deal with the tragic and sudden loss,” he said. “The fact that both of them were very well liked, and an important part of the Capilano community, there’s a lot of people that were more than happy to do what they could to financially help Jackie move forward.”
At Anderson’s celebration of life, Stollery said he and Calli shared a powerful moment, where she expressed her incredible gratitude for starting the fundraiser and for everyone’s generosity.
After giving birth, Calli posted a picture of her baby boy to Facebook in November, “which was amazing,” Stollery said. “We were all very grateful to see that she’d had a healthy baby.”
Anderson’s GoFundMe campaign is ongoing.
