Tribute

Bryce ‘Joe’ Arnold Stevenson passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family in Kelowna General Hospital on January 8th, 2026.

Joe’s story began in Morris, Manitoba, the middle son of Harvey and Agnes Stevenson, brother to Wayne, Dennis, Murray, Jack and Lance. After their family farm floated down the mighty Red River on more than one occasion, the Stevensons packed up and moved to Victoria, BC. Joe was 10 years old when they moved to Royal Oak, providing countless adventures throughout his adolescence. Some of his fondest stories to tell were about Hunter’s Holiday Ranch, where his complete love of horses was discovered. As a young man, Joe led construction crews building hospitals, universities, and hydro dams. He met and married his first wife, Karen, and together they had one daughter, Claire. While working on a project on the mainland, Joe was introduced to what would become one of his greatest adventures, horse racing. He took every opportunity to learn the game, spending his free time at the track, Joe learned how to gallop, groom and care for the Thoroughbreds, and he was hooked. However, he still carried the responsibility of working in construction, and while his wife Karen dove head first into the horse racing lifestyle, Joe was pulled between the two. Their marriage came to a quiet end, and Joe moved to the sunny Okanagan where he met the infamous PeeWee Quintal.  PeeWee became a great friend, and possibly the worst influence of them all when he turned Joe onto the thrilling sport of Quarter Horse racing at the small track in Osoyoos, Desert Park. Joe followed the Quarter Horse racing back to the coast, to a bigger track, Meadow Creek. This was the place he met his future wife, and lifelong partner in the rest of his adventures, Sheilah Street and her daughter Natasha. They were both entirely committed to three things, horses, each other, and mentoring the next generation. Together, and with their two daughters, Claire and Natasha, they raced horses all over North America, from British Columbia and Alberta, Washington, California, New Mexico and even New York. Joe was never a “cowboy”, but a true, natural horseman. He had a profound understanding of the great animals he spent much of his life with. He truly spoke their language, often taking on the unruly, the outlaws, the ones who had been misunderstood and mistreated, seeing past their man-made scars to the greatness they had within them. He changed the lives of countless race horses, and in turn the people around him.

During one of their breaks from racing, their journey brought them to Fort St. John for a short chapter. Joe got his Class One driver’s license and became a line truck driver for BC Hydro, but the racing bug came back with a vengeance, and off they went again. Of all the places they had seen on their journey, one stood out above all the rest, Osoyoos, and they eventually found their way back “home”. As a man who was happiest on the road, but wanting something that provided more stability than the racing did for his wife, children and eventually grandchildren (the other loves of his life, he truly was the best grandpa) Joe started a trucking company. Keeping his adventurous spirit satisfied, he covered every inch of North America, mentoring young drivers along the way.

Somewhere along the road, Joe came up with an idea that would become the next great chapter in his story. He invented a tarping device for the flat bed trucks he had worked on for 25 years, and went through the rigors of product development and would eventually come to patent his revolutionary tarping system, Swiftarp. Ever the wanderer, the teacher, the free spirit that he was, business development wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. He would hand the reins of the business over to his granddaughter, Dakota, in 2022, and she has since been working on developing the business around her grandfather’s invention.

In his later years, Joe spent his time living a simple, happy life. Surrounded by family, friends, horses, dogs, and of course his cats – who he never named but loved dearly. Joe was blessed with his daughters Claire (deceased) and Natasha, grandchildren Jessi, Taletha, Cole, Dakota and Dayton, his nephew Jarod who he and Sheilah raised, and eight great grandchildren!

‘Papa’ Joe will be remembered for his generous spirit, sharp mind, and unwavering love for his family, adventure, and horses. Though he is no longer here with us in body, his legacy lives on through his family, his friends, and the many lives he touched. His presence will forever remain a part of us, and we know that he’s watching over us, a black coffee in hand, and a horse by his side.

The family is grateful for the outpouring of love and support. We will be celebrating Joe’s life on the weekend of June 13th, more details to come in the coming weeks.