‘It was his favourite spot’: People rally around memorial bench in local park

There are hundreds of park benches in Regina, but for the Stevens family, one in A.E. Wilson Park holds more meaning than the rest.

It was erected to honour George Wesley Stevens, who passed away on Dec. 20, 2006 at the age of 77 after battling an illness.

Stevens’ family has spent the past year trying to get the bench repaired after it was seriously damaged. Their efforts were finally rewarded right before Father’s Day.

“It was his favourite spot. This place meant a lot to him,” said Dorathea Stevens, his wife of 53 years.

Wes Stevens

Before he died, Wesley — or Wes as many people called him — created machinery for agriculture companies.

When he wasn’t working, he loved to spend time outdoors, especially in A.E. Wilson Park.

“He would ride his bike through the park and he would always tell me all about how many geese had babies (and about) all the pretty birds. He would spend a lot of time there after he retired,” Dorathea said as she skimmed through a photo album of her husband.

“This was a very important place to him.”

Dorathea Stevens holds a picture of her husband’s memorial bench. (Logan Stein/980 CJME)

Dorathea says Wes would always talk about the need for more benches in the park; that way, more people could sit and admire nature as he loved to do on something other than the grass.

“That was his last place where he enjoyed life,” she said, staring longingly at the pic. “He loved animals so much.”

Wes was terrified of death, according to his wife. He didn’t like to talk about it and he didn’t want to be buried; he wanted to be cremated.

“That’s how we decided to do the bench,” she said. “That way, he wouldn’t have to be buried in a cemetery.”

With some help from Wes’ former employer, a memorial bench was purchased and put in his favourite spot to honour his memory.

The scenery around Wes Stevens’ bench in A.E. Wilson Park. (Logan Stein/980 CJME)

“I said to the kids that if they want to do anything for me when I die, they can get me a bench on the other side of his so we can still argue,” Dorathea said with a laugh.

Over the years, many others have enjoyed the bench, including Wes’ grandson.

“He goes through the park every day,” Dorathea said.

“There is a lot of feelings there. He sees the bench every day.”

Stevens’ grandson has also seen the bench get desecrated over the years.

Wes Stevens, who is named after his grandpa, says he has seen the bench get damaged multiple times, whether through vandalism by someone jumping on it or just the elemental wear and tear.

He claims there was briefly some caution tape put around it earlier in the year, but the bench remained unfixed.

Fixing the bench

A screen grab of a Facebook post about the damage the bench has sustained. (Facebook)

Richard Stevens, Wes’ son, said it was extremely frustrating seeing no progress made in relation to repairs on the damaged bench honouring his father.

“It surprises me that a bench like that, in a high-traffic area, would be left in that state,” Richard said.

“I went online to the City of Regina. I did the formal request by email that they have there and I explained to them where it was and everything. It had been over a year and I kept thinking if it was ever going to get fixed.”

For Richard, seeing the bench in its state was distressing knowing the significance behind why it was installed.

“When it was installed we thought, ‘Here’s something that the public can use. Maybe people will sit down and look at the creek and find some joy,’ ” he said. “Maybe they would find as much joy as my dad did.”

Richard claims the family placed two formal requests with the city for the bench to be repaired, with few results.

980 CJME spoke with Mayor Sandra Masters about the bench and the situation the family found itself in.

“There’s a service standard. You’re supposed to have a response within a few days,” she said. “I would welcome them to reach out through the mayor’s office or through his local councillor so that we can actually get to resolving the issue.

“There is that element of respect that is owed not just to public property in general, but especially to those that are commemorating individuals.”

In a Facebook post about the damaged bench, an overwhelming number of people reached out saying they would contact the city, urging progress to be made.

Much to the family’s joy, the bench was fixed prior to Father’s Day.