Obituary: Musician and businessman Steve Parton was ‘full of life’

The music and arts community is mourning the loss of Steve Parton, who was not only a talented guitarist, singer, filmmaker and writer, but the founder of a music school and a talent agency.

The Dundas resident, who died March 11 at age 49, wrote two books about his battle with kidney cancer after he was diagnosed with it in 2013.

The first, published in 2017, is called Cancer Trip: Curing Cancer with Humour. And Pot. And Chemo." The second, following treatment with a new medicine, came out in 2019 and was called Cancer Trip 2: Alive and Kicking." Parton's wife Isabel Casey said he was one of two people in Canada to receive Cabozantinib.

Casey said she received more than 800 messages when she posted on Facebook a few days before his death that Parton had taken a turn for the worse.

People wrote pages of stories," said Casey, a nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital. One woman delivered 20 pages of how Steve was instrumental in her son's life. Steve just helped build this person up."

She wasn't surprised by the reaction.

I've always been very proud of him," Casey said. He was always making sure people are appreciated for what they did. When he was in the hospital, if a new staff member walked in the room, he was always asking them their name and about what they did. He was always a special person."

She recalled her husband gave people deals on music lessons and musical instruments when they were strapped for cash. He lent equipment to other musicians and clubs, and for many years organized the bands playing at the Dundas Driving Park during Victoria Day and Canada Day celebrations.

Parton ran his music school out of St. Paul's United Church and helped out in church fundraisers.

He was just in the middle of teaching the St. Paul's kids ukulele for a musical video they are working on, when he got sick and died," Casey said.

Parton was born August 1, 1971 in Jonquiere, Que., but came to Dundas when he was an infant. He attended Central Public School and Highland Secondary School and graduated from Fanshawe College in London, Ont. in the sound engineer program.

When he was about 10, Casey said her husband and a friend decided to form a band.

They then decided they wanted to learn to play an instrument," she chuckled.

Her husband first learned the drums, and then the guitar. The result was such bands as the Relics, Sound Minds and the Steve Parton Ensemble.

His mother Andie Parton said her son was full of life." He had worked since he was a kid, delivering papers and cleaning out a garage, and founded his first business making lights for concerts when he was 14. She recalled he made a movie about Superman when he was 10, and got the mayor of Dundas to help him.

He wrote for music magazines and lived in Mexico, California and in Nanaimo, B.C. In the latter place, he convinced the conductor of the Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra to let his band play with the orchestra. He made five short films - some that played at the Hamilton Film Festival - and made music videos.

He was unstoppable," said his mother, a retired McMaster lab technician. A couple of days before he went into the hospital he was still writing."

Parton founded Avalon Music Academy in 1999. It had outlets in Dundas, Hamilton, Brantford, Ancaster and Paris. His wife said dozens of musicians worked as instructors and she says hundreds of students took lessons. The business was sold when he became sick.

He was also the owner of Hammer Artist Management and, at the time of his death he was managing a solo artist and three bands.

His friend and neighbour Cam Goede called Parton an incredible guy" who motivated him to write a book about his love of hiking in the Dundas Valley. The result was Exploring the Dundas Valley: A Guide to Ontario's Valley Playground" (2015).

I can honestly say that I would not ever have done the writing I have done without him," said Goede. He encouraged me to write my book, introduced me to the Dundas writers' group, designed my book cover and walked me through the world of self-publishing. There are a thousand stories like that out there."

Parton is survived by wife Isabel, children Blake and Meghan, mother Andie and stepfather Steve, brother Chris, sister Jennifer and other family members. He is also survived by his first wife Charlene. He was predeceased by his father Stephen Parton Sr.

Daniel Nolan can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com