Donald StoeszDonald Stoesz grew up in the small, tight-knit Mennonite community of Altona, Manitoba. He attended a private Mennonite high school and Bible college before going on to seminary studies in Elkhart, Indiana. Upon completion of his Masters of Divinity egree in 1981, Don became the pastor of a Mennonite church in Calgary, Alberta. In 1983, Don was accepted into graduate studies at McGill University in Montreal. He graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in religious studies in 1991 and taught as a part-time lecturer until 1996.

Donald began his prison chaplaincy career in 1987, when he filled in at Leclerc Institution for Reverend Tom Kurdyla, a Presbyterian minister. Don worked as a chaplain in a variety of federal prisons in Quebec before transferring in 1998 to Bowden Institution, a federal prison in Alberta. Most recently, Don has become involved in chaplaincy at the Bowden annex and in the Red Deer community.

Don is married to Naomi Brubacher and they have four children, Matthew, Kevin, Justin, and Sonya. Read More Read Less