Van den Steen, Alec – On February 16, 2024 Alec Xinkai Van den Steen of London, Ontario died age 15.
Lovingly remembered by his parents Eric and Deishin Van den Steen-Lee and his brother Ian;
His grandmother Celina Van den Steen-Van Lint,
His uncle and aunt (Jiu-Jiu and Jiu-Ma) Moshin and Christina Lee and their children Maia and Elena,
His uncle and aunt Peter and Ingrid Plas-Van den Steen,
His uncle (and godfather) Joris Van den Steen,
His uncle and aunt (and godmother) Pieter and Sofie Van den Steen-Langohr and their children Clara, Juliette, and Marianne.
Alec was born in Boston on April 2, 2008. From the moment he arrived, his light brightened those around him. Alec lived in Belmont, Massachusetts with his brother Ian and parents, where he attended Winn Brook Elementary School. He loved meeting new people, especially drawing newly arrived kids into his circle of friends with his flair for silliness and fun. Many afternoons were spent building bobsleigh tracks and forts in the woods, playing Minecraft with his friends, and creating fantastical worlds in Lego with his brother.
In 2018, Alec moved with his family to London, Ontario, where he first attended Old North Public School, graduating in 2022. He blossomed not only in his schoolwork, sports, and music, but also further developed his innate gift for mischief and the absurd, for example, by going to class on the last day of school one year in a ketchup bottle outfit. Alec was excited to go to high school at London Central — proudly wearing his Central spirit wear everywhere. His time on the cross-country team, ping pong club, orchestra and many other activities, and interactions with teachers and staff imbued a strong sense of community. But most especially, Alec treasured his time with his friends and the boys.
Alec truly loved soccer, as a player on various soccer teams, an avid FIFA gamer, a fan of Man City and the Belgian national team, and a living encyclopedia and daily news summary of any events related to ‘the beautiful game’, even becoming a qualified assistant referee in soccer. He also loved watching movies, snuggling with pup Maple, having fun in spontaneous gatherings in the neighbourhood, reading fantasy books, (thinking about 🙂 ) practicing violin, goofing around at family gatherings, chatting in the kitchen with his mom, playing Gloomhaven with his brother and his dad, and trying to beat his brother at any game they played together with late night ping pong matches and banter morphing frequently into pillow fights.
We cherish Alec’s gift for making us smile — with a joke, with a kind word, with a silly dance, with hilarious spot-on expressions that became part of the Van den Steen-Lee lore such as ‘this is so good it’s like tasting a hamburger for the first time, for the second time’.
Together with the twinkle in his eyes, he had the brightest smile, the funniest bone, and the kindest heart. We are so grateful for the 15 beautiful years he gave us and will miss him deeply forever.
A memorial service will be held to celebrate Alec on Saturday March 2, 2024, at 2pm at Metropolitan United Church (468 Wellington St., London, ON).
The family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a donation to the Central Secondary School Trip Fund in memory of Alec Van den Steen (funding to help all students attend school trips).