Monday, January 3, 2022
I have been Steve’s friend for 47 years. We were special education students together at Penn State. He married my mentor, Sara, which was such a great match! I later married Paul, and we all got along so well, spending many days together in State College and Chautauqua. When Steve worked at Dauphin County Library, he “lived” at our house (stayed a few days each week) because it was closer to his job. Our kids got to know him, and they adored him. Every time he came, he brought books, records with songs and stories, videos, and even the video machine (not many people had them then) from the library. He would take them back and bring new ones the next time he came. What a joy for all of us. He truly enriched our lives. I always loved children’s books, but his and Sara’s influence made me want to learn more; and that knowledge certainly made me a much better teacher.
Steve and I exchanged many similar stories of our years growing up. We both had brothers named David and Paul, and we both loved them dearly. When my brother Dave died at 42, Steve called to express his sympathy. He asked me to tell him one good story about Dave. I said that my brother, a popular jock in high school, befriended everyone, especially a particular girl who was bullied by many and who told us at the funeral how he respected her and helped her. As I was talking, Steve began to cry; and I knew how much he cared about Dave and me.
Every time we were with Steve and Sara throughout the years, we learned something new - about history, literature, music, etc. Perhaps more important, every time we were with him, we laughed – over and over. We always left feeling good about our friendship and ourselves.
My husband Paul remembers their common love of baseball and how Steve got him into playing Fantasy Baseball in his league. Despite Paul’s inability to take the pressure (quite a joke between them), he enjoyed his interactions with his friend over the game. Paul especially remembers carefree days at Chautauqua with lawn bowling, great performances, and Steve’s amazing lunches with various exotic items. He enjoyed entertaining! When Paul started brewing his own beer, Steve was a big supporter, telling him it was great to have a friend who was a chemist and that his IPA was Steve’s 4th favorite of all time.
As he did with everyone he knew and cared about, Steve made us feel special, and we will miss him terribly.
