A familiar voice in Victoria homes for more than four decades has died.
Longtime broadcaster Steve Duffy passed away on Tuesday at Victoria General Hospital after a long and devastating fight with Multiple System Atrophy. He was 72.
His wife, Susan Duffy, was by his side when he took his final breath at 5:30 a.m. on November 11th, a date that carried deep meaning for him.
“Remembrance Day was probably Steve’s favourite holiday,” Susan said. “He respected our service people so much. He always wished he had been the right age to serve his country. He was a proud Canadian through and through.”
Steve was born in Coventry, England, in 1953. His family moved to Canada in 1956 when his father went to work on the iconic Avro Arrow project, something Steve remained proud of all his life. The family eventually settled in BC, and Steve found his calling behind a microphone.
He began his radio career in Port Alberni in 1974, then moved to Courtenay, and finally to Victoria in 1976, where he joined CKDA as a young news reporter. He had been a DJ up-island and almost turned the job down, but the move turned out to be the start of everything.
“It was the best thing that happened to him because he got into sports as well,” Susan said.
When CKDA and CFMS were bought out, he continued with The Q and later found his long-term home at CFAX 1070, where he became the morning sports voice and a trusted presence.
His work was defined by neutrality and a commitment to reporting “just the facts,” something listeners valued.
“Steve loved being neutral,” Susan said. “His voice could echo in a room without a mic. Every morning he was there with your coffee telling you what was happening locally and around the world.”
He stayed with CFAX until 2017, when he was let go during Bell Media cutbacks. He was already battling cancer at the time, and while the dismissal was difficult, Susan said the timing allowed him to step back from work and spend more time with the local sports community he loved.
Susan met Steve in the mid-1980s at the Nautilus Club on Cook Street, where both were regulars.
“He asked me on a date and that was that,” she said. “We met in 1986 and married in 1989. We were best friends, and when you fall in love with your best friend it will last forever.”
Their shared life was full of family, sports, painting, motorcycle rides, Mustangs, and evenings spent with friends around the dinner table.
Their family included two children. Jordan, now 43 and from Steve’s first marriage, remains “my right hand man today,” Susan said.
Their daughter Shannon came later, a surprise and a joy. “She was our long-awaited miracle child,” Susan said with a laugh.
“All we needed to do was double the mortgage and get a dog.”
The illness that stole everything but his mind
Steve began showing subtle symptoms in his early 60s. His voice changed, his energy faded, and one side of his body slowed. But getting answers proved nearly impossible in a strained medical system.
In 2022, his health declined sharply. He stopped driving after drifting too close to the centre line. His balance worsened. One day, Susan came home and found him face down in the backyard, unable to move.
That moment began a cycle of ER visits, tests, misdiagnoses, and finally the grim revelation that he had Multiple System Atrophy, a degenerative disease that strips away movement, speech, and basic autonomic functions.
From January 3rd to November 11th, Steve spent 312 days in hospital.
“He had no movement, not even that of a newborn, but his mind was perfect,” Susan said. “He was sharp as a tack, locked inside a body that could no longer perform the simplest of tasks.”
She praised the effort of the hospital staff, despite the strain they work under.
“As broken as the system is, the staff at VGH tried very hard,” she said. “When you have an advocate sitting by their side, it makes all the difference.”
What brought Steve comfort during those final months were the constants in his life, his children, his family, his friends, sports, and the iPad he received through a Broadmead Care program designed to support seniors in staying connected.
Steve’s reputation in Victoria stretched far beyond his years on radio. He was a regular figure at local sports events, a Legion volunteer in Langford, and a supporter of countless community efforts.
“If you know the name Steve Duffy, then you know he was involved,” Susan said. “He was a man about town with a love for local sports and for helping wherever he could.”
Local sports team also took to social media after learning of Steve’s passing.
“Steve was a great friend of the Shamrocks. He was talented, kind, and he will be missed,” wrote the Victoria Shamrocks in a social media post.
“We mourn the passing of local broadcast icon Steve Duffy. He was one of the nicest, kindest people and a true friend of all sports in Victoria. Steve called our Shaw TV action in 2017 and 2018 and rarely missed a game with his wife Sue. Just 72, gone far too soon,” said the Victoria HarbourCats.
Susan described her husband as being kind hearted, fun, loving, friendly, hard working who loved his community, the island sports scene, and his country.
“He cared so much for the people here,” she said. “He loved being a Canadian and always said we lived in the best country in the world.”
Now, with her heart broken and her home quieter than it has ever been, Susan takes comfort in imagining him free again.
“He’s probably up there riding his motorcycle, watching a baseball game, hockey or lacrosse, or maybe he finally decided to take up golf,” she said.
“A life well lived. Too short, but longer than we thought.”
Susan asks that anyone who has photos of Steve from his radio days or sports work consider sharing them.
“He touched so many people,” she said. “I hope they remember how much he cared.”
