Security leader bids father farewell

Unexpectedly, during a conversation with an acquaintance, Kanesatake Perimeter Security (KPS) coordinator Kane Montour learned about another splurge of generosity by his father, Ahkwesahsró:non Wayne Stehlin.

Back when the acquaintance was engaged, Stehlin had learned how the couple was looking for an affordable wedding venue and were planning to cut costs by using their parents’ car as transportation for the big day, said Montour.

But before the wedding, the happy couple was surprised with limousines, which took them to a larger party venue than they could afford.

There they learned that Stehlin had arranged the surprise.

“This is where you’re going to have your wedding,” the grateful acquaintance recalled Stehlin saying.

On February 14, 2026, Stehlin passed on at 72 years old after a heart attack.

Throughout his life, stories of Montour’s father’s generosity were common.

“I know he was a loving person,” said Stehlin’s brother, Ahkwesahsró:non Gary Stehlin, who has a large 55 cm by 43 cm photo of his brother in his living room. “He cared about other people, he did. If you needed money, he would take the shirt off his back.”

Over the years Montour has learned his father had bought a car for someone who had been in a car accident and paid a myriad of strangers’ restaurant bills. Stehlin also offered his living room couch to many who needed a temporary place to stay, said Montour.

“I grew up seeing him always helping somebody, whether it was carrying somebody’s groceries in a grocery store or paying for somebody’s groceries that he didn’t even know, or just giving somebody a ride,” said Montour. “Just always helping anybody he could help.”

And like the saying goes, like father, like son, Montour inherited his father’s generosity. Montour said he is dedicated to giving his service to the community through his work at the KPS.

Montour’s unexpected loss comes at a time when funding for the KPS is in limbo and incidents of crime surge in Kanesatake.

But no matter what lies ahead, Montour said he is at peace because his father had a chance to see him thrive as a community leader and because he has his father’s many life lessons to guide him.

“As long as you’re trying to make the community a better place, nobody can take that from you,” Montour recalled his father telling him.

“There’s a lot of dangerous things happening in Kanesatake, and he would always just tell me, ‘Do the right thing. Things are going to be tough, things are going to be hard, but it’s only as hard as you make it.”

But Montour will miss speaking with his father.

“I think that’s one of the hardest things now, with my father gone, is whenever I would have a hard day at work or something bad happened in the community, I would call him up, and he would just always know what to say,” said Montour. “And it’s one of the hardest things about losing him now. It makes it so difficult. I can’t call him anymore.”

Recently, Veronica Montour, Stehlin’s former wife and Montour’s mother, drove Stehlin home after a medical appointment. In the car, Stehlin expressed how happy he was with Montour.

“He says, ‘I’m so happy that I get to see Kane at his best.’ He says, ‘I’m so proud of him for how far he’s come and how he’s turned his life around. And you know, he’s doing so well,’” Veronica recalled Stehlin telling her.

Montour learned from his father’s entrepreneurial spirit and shared his father’s love of singing and music.

He will hold onto the memories of learning country songs in the car with Stehlin and singing together throughout the years.

On January 31, Montour celebrated his father’s birthday with him. He pulled out his phone and interviewed him, said Montour, a practice he had been doing for the past year.

This time, Montour asked what his advice for his younger self would be. Stehlin said to stay healthy and take care of our bodies, and to live a full life.

“I have no regrets, I had a good life,” said Stehlin, in the video.

He told Montour, “My advice to you is you do the same.”

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Hadassah Alencar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter