Above is a picture of Steven's family. Front row: left to right: Lillian, Steven's mom (now deceased) and Donald, Steven's fatherBack Row: left to right: Steven, Lynn, and Donna - both are Steven's sisters
Above is a picture of Steven's father, Donald Arthur Albert Wittenberg. Donald is 84 years old now and lives in a retirement home in Ottawa
Above is a picture of Frances Elkie, a former friend of Steven's taken at Parliament Hill in Ottawa
Above is a picture of Steven at the Ottawa General Hospital on the 4th floor in April 2000. Steven was a patient at the hospital because Steven had many seizures that would were out of control and not responding to his usual medications. Steven has epilepsy. Steven was there for two months. Steven is seen here with a hospital staff member
Above is a picture of Steven's family: Front row: Left to Right: Donald and StevenBack row: Left to Right: Donna, Lynn and Lillian (Donna and Lynn are Steven's sisters)
Donald is Steven's father. Lillian (now deceased in 1999 due to cancer) is Steven's mother.
Above is a picture of Steven's family taken in 1991 in Manitoba and Lynn and Dough's wedding: Front row: little girl is Donna's daughter Melissa. Standing behind Melissa is Steven's mom Lillian.Back Row: Left to Right: Lynn in a white dress and her new husband Doug holding their infant son
Stefan. Next to Doug wearing glasses is Donald, Steven's dad. Steven is behind his niece wearing white who Lynn oldest daughter. The lady wearing a brown and white dress is Lucy is Lynn's youngest daughter. Lucy has her arm her aunt Donna wearing a dark blue dress.
Above is a picture of Steven at his 40th birthday party at his sister Lynn's apartment in Vancouver in 2000.
Above is a picture of Steven as teenager.
Above is a picture of Steven at his grade 12 graduation taken at the High School of Commercein June, 1981
Above is a picture of Steven taken on his 16th birthday in 1976 at his home at 34 1st Ave in Ottawa where he grew up.
Above is a picture of Steven taken as a teenager at Christmas in 1976 in Ottawa
Above is a picture of Steven taken down East in Canada when he was ll years old
Above is a picture of Steven down East in Canada when he was ll years old
Above is a picture of Steven taken he was l5 years old in 1975 at a school McHugh School in the Riverview Public School in Ottawa
Above is a picture of Steven and his friends from the neighbourhood on 1st Ave in Ottawa in front of his house which was at 34 1st Ave. Steven was 10 years old and it was the worst winter in Ottawa in1970-71. Lots of snow that winter
Above is a picture of Steven taken when he was 6 months old in October 1960. Left to Right:Lynn (Steven's youngest sister who 6) and his older sister Donna who was 10 years is holding
Steven who was a baby
Above is a picture of Steven and his sister Lynn who came into Ottawa in August 2007 from her home in Vancouver. Lynn took Steven and Sue out for lunch at Tucker's Marketplace restaurant in Ottawa. It was the first time Sue met her sister-in-law. Lynn is a very nice down to earth person.
Above is a picture Left of Right: Lynn, Sue and Steven at the Tucker's Marketplace restaurant in Ottawa, August 2007
Above is a picture of Sue's husband Steven at his church called "Britannia United Church" in Ottawa.Steven is a choir member.
Sue's favorite picture of Steven taken at Tim Horton's on Richmond Road near Woodroffe Ave in Ottawa. Steven sure loves his coffee.
Above is a picture of Sue and Steven on their wedding day with Rev Allan Gallichan who performed the civil ceremony in Ottawa at Sue and Steven's apartment building common room in February 2006.
Above is a picture of Steven and Sue and Santa taken at the Carlingwood Shopping Center in OttawaDecember 2005 before Sue and Steven got engaged to be married.
Steven was born in Ottawa in April 1960 at the Grace Hospital which was on Wellington Street.
Steven grew up in Ottawa in a house at 34 1st Ave near Bank Street in the Glebe area of Ottawa, Ontario. Steven was sent to special education in public school. Steven was put on the psychiatric drug Ritalin that is used for kids who are hyperactive. Steve got his grade 12 from Commerce High School in Ottawa in 1981.
Steven was given the small pox vaccine a live vaccine when he was a month old and the vaccine didn't take so they did it again when in October 1960 when Steven was 6 months old. His mother told him
that Steven broke out in blisters all over his body and it looked the pictures she had seen of small pox.
Steven's mother called the doctor and the doctor said it was a rare reaction to the small pox vaccine and it would have to run its course. One day on a Sunday in February of 1961, Steven's two sisters Donna and Lynn were sitting in bed with Steven laying between them. His sisters noticed Steven had a really high fever and the girls went running into their parents' bedroom and yelled "something is wrong with Steven".
His parents got dressed and rushed Steven to the Ottawa Civic Hospital emergency department. They tested Steven for meningitis and the hospital called in a neurologist Dr. Edward Attack. He did a test called an EEG. on Steve. The doctor said there was a scar on Steven's brain caused by the rare reaction to the small pox vaccine. They kept Steven in the hospital and put him on some medications called Dilantin and phenobarbital. The doctor told his parents that Steven would be on the medication for two years. After two years, the doctor took Steven off his medications but he started having seizures, so Steven went back on his medication and has been on them ever since.
Steven's father's name is Donald Arthur Albert Wittenberg. Herman and Elsie were Donald's parents. Donald grew up in a house at 55 Sussex Ave in Ottawa. Herman was fire fighter in Ottawa and he retired as a captain. Elsie was a housewife. Herman and Elsie had 4 boys and 2 girls. Walter,
Violet, Herman, Harvey, Donald and Ethel.
Steven's mother's name was Lillian Ena Walker . Her and dad and mom were Lawrence and Ada Walker. They had 6 girls: Laura, Ruth, Margaret, Lillian, Mary and Phylis. Steven's mother lived on a farm out in South Mountain, Ontario. Her dad Lawrence Walker was a farmer. Her mom
Ada was a teacher before she got married and then became a housewife.
Steven's sister Donna Carr lives in Stittsville, Ontario. She is a nurse. She is divorced from Frank Carr who lives in Texas. Donna lives with her daughter Melissa and Melissa's child a girl named Haley. Donna has 3 children. Tammy, Paul, and Melissa. Tammy is married and has two boys. Paul is married and has one boy. Donna Carr works at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital in Ottawa. Donna has a boyfriend named Jim.
Lynn is married to a musician Doug Thordarson and they have a son named Stefan who is a teenager and a musician also. Doug is a violin teacher. Doug was Lynn's violin teacher. They fell in love and got married. Lynn is a nurse.
Lynn has two children from a previous relationship. She has two daughters named Lucy and Rachael.
Both girls have children. Lucy has a boy and a girl. Rachel has two girls. They all live in Vancouver,
British Columbia.
Steven's mother was a nice lady and was very good to him. Steven's mother Lillian died of cancer in 1999. She died in her home in Stittsville, Ontario. She was 80 years old. Steven misses his mother very much.
Steven was abused when he was l3 yeas old by his father Donald Wittenberg and it continued for many years. Steven called and confronted his dad who denied abusing him. Steven asked his father if he was ever abused as a child and he said yes. When Steven asked what type of abuse, his father would not say. Lynn his sister believes Steven was abused. His sister Donna does not believe Steven. Steven is estranged from his father and his sister Donna at the present time. Steven's mother never knew about the abuse, it was hidden from her.
Donald Wittenberg lives in a retirement home near Ottawa and he is 84 years old. Donald worked
for Statistics Canada as a clerk at Tunney's pasture in Ottawa since the late 40s and worked there
for over 30 years. Donald was a Navy seaman during World War II. He went all over Europe.
Steve does not want to bring any criminal charges against his father. Steven sees a therapist in Ottawa to deal with some of the issues from his past.
Steven met his wife Sue at the psychiatric peer group called "A Post Psychiatric Leisure Enterprise" (APPLE) which had group meetings and activities at the Main St community center in Ottawa. Sue and her husband John Clark helped to run the drop-ins. Sue would call the members of Apple to remind them of special events. Sue would call Steven's home and talk to his mother Lillian and give a message. Little did Sue or Lillian know that 23 years later Sue would marry Steven. Sue never had the opportunity to meet Lillian, Steven's mother as she had passed away in 1999.
Steven and Sue lost track of each other for years. One day in 2004, Sue was at Carlingwood Shopping Center and she was getting a coffee at Treats coffee shop. There she bumped into Steven who did not recognize her. Sue was in her electric wheelchair and went up to Steven and said "Is your name Steven". He said yes. Sue and Steven began to talk together. Steven started to remember Sue after she told him who she was. He remembered going to the Apple meetings. Steven asked Sue what had happened to her as she was in a electric wheelchair. Sue told Steven she had severe arthritis and spinal stenosis, and she did not have a car accident to cause her to be in a wheelchair. A great aunt of Sue's was crippled in her mid 40s too. Sue has some mobility left. Sue can walk about 50 feet and then has to sit down as her legs and spine will not support her. Sue is in chronic pain most of the time but cannot take any pain medication as her family doctor told her that her blood pressure is too high.
Sue and Steven got to know each other and met for coffee often. Sue was dating Dustin and was not very happy in the platonic relationship for l5 years for lots of reasons. Sue liked Steven. Steven was shy and never had a girlfriend. Steven was 44 years old. Sue liked Steven because he was kind and he would listen to Sue when she had a problem or needed support.
Sue asked Steven over for lunch sometimes. Sue kissed Steven goodbye on the cheek at Carlingwood Shopping Centre one day in October in 2005 and that was Steven's first kiss.
On October 21, 2005, Sue was making lunch for Steven. Steven was late and Sue was worried as Steven was never late and if he would be late he would have called Sue. Sue waited for Steven and finished cooking lunch. Sue started to worry about Steven
Steven finally showed up one hour late. He knocked on Sue's door loudly. Sue opened the door and Steven was very hyper and upset and talked very loudly. He looked angry. Steven sat down and told Sue that he was Carlingwood Shopping earlier. Steven saw a woman's coat on an empty chair. Steven stood near the chair and watched to see if anyone would sit down. Somebody came by and sat down
but for some reason decided it probably not there coat. Steven said to himself he would take the coat to lost and found department at Carlingwood Shopping Center. The lady who sat down yelled "my coat" but Steven did not hear the lady because Steven walks quickly. When Steven got to the Laura Secord candy store, Steven was pushed up against the display case by some Carlingwood security officer and some police officers. Steven said he was taking the coat to guest services lost and found.
Steven had his hands up in the air against the glass. We are police here and they put handcuffs on Steven. Steven said he did not do anything wrong. He was not stealing the coat.
The security team and the police took Steven to the Carlingwood security office. They looked through
Steven's I.D. They checked Steven's pockets for anything and they looked in his case that he was carrying. They asked for speak to Steven's father when Steven had proper ID on him. The women's c coat had car keys in one pocket. The cops asked if Steven was going to steal the car and he told them he did not know how to drive as he had epilepsy. The cops mocked Steven for a time and then gave him a paper to show up in court for theft over $5,000 and the Carlingwood security team gave Steven
a paper saying he could not come back on the premises for one year.
Steven told Sue all of what happened and Sue got very upset and angry at the way Steven had been treated. Steven did nothing wrong at all. Sue tried to calm Steven down and eventually Steven did relax and quiet. Sue and Steven had a chicken meal.
Sue called her friend Jane and she told Sue she knew of a good lawyer who fought human rights lawyer. Yvar Hameed was a lawyer who had an office near Bank St. Also Jane advised Sue and Steven to call up the security team and say they would hold a protest at Carlingwood shopping center because of how Steven was treated unfairly. It was the Christmas season. The Carlingwood management called their security consultant in Toronto. A man called who was a former cop. He told Sue that Steven should not worry that he had done nothing wrong and everything would be ok.
He told Sue that Steven would have his trespass notice rescinded and he could back to Carlingwood
Shopping Center immediately. It was one week since the incident happened. Steven went back to Carlingwood and resumed his normal routine of going to the Woodroffe Branch Library and then
meeting Sue for a coffee at Tim Horton's. The security team never bothered Steven again.
Sue called and got an appointment with the lawyer for Steven. Sue and Steven showed up for the lawyer's appointment. Steven told Yvar and his student lawyer Nick St. Pierre the whole story. Yvar said he would take the case for free. He believed what Steven had said and thought it was a human rights case for sure.
Yvar would send Nick with Steven to go to the police station while Steven gave his finger prints
and picture at the Ottawa Police Station on Elgin St. Steven was nervous but Sue went with him and told him it would be ok. Nick showed up and went with Steven to do the procedures. Steven came out and he was ok.
Steven and Sue went to court as Steven had a court date. Steven was very stressed out. Nick was with Steven and the judge gave Nick a new court date for Steven. Nick spoke to the crown and the crown's office would be willing to drop all the charges if Steven's doctor gave his lawyer a letter explaining his disabilities or he could wait for a year and go to court. Steven opted for the letter from his doctor. Steven asked his doctor for a letter and the doctor told Sue it would take 8 weeks and cost $250. Sue explained that Steven needed the letter the next day or he would have to go to court.
Sue did some fancy talking and got the letter for Steven from his doctor the next day. Nick the student lawyer called Steven's family doctor for the letter with no success. Steven brought the letter to his lawyer who in turn passed it in to the crown. A month later, Steven' had his charges dropped by the crown and his fingerprints removed and his picture from the police department. Steven won his case and has no criminal record. Steven had done nothing wrong in the first place. Steven's doctor reduced the price of the medical letter to $125 which Sue has not paid yet.
Sue advised Steven not to pick up anything someone may have forgotten like an umbrella a coat etc in the future. Steven did not want to go through that again.
Sue and Steven became closer as they met everyday. Steven needed the support. Eventually Sue and Steven fell in love and decided to get engaged and then get married which they did.
Steven and Sue got married in February of 2006 in a civil ceremony by Rev. Allan Gallichan.
It was Steven first marriage and Sue's third marriage. Steven was 45 years old and Sue was 50 years old. Never too late to find love, Sue says.
Dustin, Sue's ex-boyfriend took the news hard. Sue's brother did not attend the wedding. He did not like Sue leaving Dustin. Sue makes her own decisions and knows what is best for her.
Dustin and Sue were estranged for 6 months as friends. Eventually Dustin came around and now Sue and Dustin maintain a good friendship together. Dustin treats Steven fairly.
Sue and Steven founded in May 2007, the Wittenberg Center to End Electroshock. Sue is an electroshock survivor. The center wants to inform the public about the harm done by electroshock and is working to ban electroshock universally.
Steven likes hockey and football. He also likes to listen to music and go onto the internet.
Steven likes to socialize with friends and have coffee at Tim Horton's, his favorite coffee. Steven likes to go the library everyday. Steven has a wonderful sense of humour. He likes to watch these programs on TV: Unsolved Mysteries, Here's Lucy, Keeping Up Appearances, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Batman and news programs.
Steven's goals are: to get an office for the Wittenberg Center to End Electroshock, to get a house,
to get a part-time job doing office work, join the YMCA and do exercise, to grow old with his wife Sue and to have a happy marriage, learn how to cook. Steven dreams of world peace.
Steven is a good husband and person. He is a patient, kind and caring person. Steven is very forgiving. Steven has integrity. Steven tells me what I need to hear and I like that about my
husband. Steven is straight forward. Steven has a wonderful sense of humor and that helps
me lots in life. I needed a partner who was strong, kind, loving, forgiving, patient, nice, and loyal
and Steven is all of that and even more. I am learning new things about Steven everyday.
The world needs more Stevens. I love my husband very much and more every day.
