Should Steve Fonyo's Order of Canada be returned? Here's what the cancer survivor's family is saying after his death

The grieving family of Steve Fonyo, who died Friday, is calling for his Order of Canada membership to be restored.

The grieving family of Steve Fonyo, who died Friday, is calling for his Order of Canada membership to be restored.

“I don’t think they should have ever taken that away from him,” said Fonyo’s sister, Suzanne Main.

Fonyo survived childhood cancer and then inspired a nation when he ran across Canada on an artificial leg in the mid-1980s.

“He loved the crowds when he was running and he would stop and talk to anybody. Very proud of him,” said Main.

“I will only remember him as a hero.”

Fonyo raised millions for cancer research. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1985. He was just 19 at the time.

But he later fell from grace after facing criminal convictions, even spending time in jail. His Order of Canada was revoked in 2010.