Stephanie Lundie

Our loving, sweet, funny, clever, and courageous daughter and sister, Stephanie, is now physically gone from our lives. Memories of her, however, will flood our hearts and minds forever. Steph died August 15, 2012, at Genesis Medical Center, West Campus, Davenport, from complications of stage IV breast cancer.Stephanie’s family invites family and friends to join them at 11 a.m. on Sunday, August 26, at Centre Station, 1200 River Drive, Moline, for a “Remembering Steph” gathering to honor Steph, followed by a luncheon and a time to visit with her family and friends.Steph was born on April 10, 1965, in Ames, Iowa, to Carmen and Bill Lundie. She spent most of her growing up years in East Moline, where she attended Ridgewood Elementary School, Glenview Junior High School, United Township High School and Black Hawk College. Music was always an important part of Steph’s life, and she took an active part in the United Township Band as well as being a member of the Quad-City Youth Symphony Orchestra.Brother Bill was born in 1972, and he and Steph instantly became lifelong buddies and friends and shared a never-ending great love of music and for each other. When Bill and Jill were married in 2005, Steph happily welcomed Jill as a great friend and family member, and when Lauren and Brandon were born, the jubilation in Steph’s heart never stopped. She simply adored her niece and nephew, who both brought her incredible joy.In 1987, Steph moved to Clearwater, Fla., where she lived for 23 years. In the spring of 2009, she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, and was initially treated in Clearwater. In May 2010, she was able to move to Moline and continue her treatment closer to home at the Iowa Cancer Institute in Davenport. Steph was hospitalized in the Oncology Unit of Genesis Medical Center on July 30, where she was a patient until her death.Stephanie is survived by her parents, Bill and Carmen Lundie of Moline; her brother Bill, his wife Jill, and their children Lauren and Brandon Lundie of Bettendorf; her grandmother, Annette Lundie of Dumont, Iowa; her aunt, Jean Meehan of Waterloo, Iowa; her aunt, Carol Achterkirch, of Jackson, Minn; and her aunt and uncle, Peg and Tim Ellefson of Eldora, Iowa; as well as cousins, Michael Meehan, Melissa Portillo, Mary Mikula, Cassie Landhauser and Ben Ellefson … and we mustn’t forget Steph’s furry friends, her cat, Licorice, and her gerbil, Gerb.Stephanie was preceded in death by three of her adoring grandparents, Anne and Harold “Curly” Ellefson of Hampton, Iowa, and Robert ‘Bud’ Lundie of Dumont, Iowa, and her uncle Ray Achterkirch of Jackson, Minn. We are comforted to think that her grandparents are once again holding their beloved Steph in their arms and will care for her so very lovingly as they did her whole life.Stephanie’s family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our friends and family who have supported Steph and her family with their thoughts, their prayers, their kindnesses and their love throughout this difficult journey. A special thank you to Steph’s Florida best buddy, Bunny Davis, and her entire family, who were Steph’s best friends and family all the years Steph lived in Florida, to Michelle Johnson of Moline, who has been a good friend of Steph’s since high school, and to Connie Claassen, who took Steph under her sisterly/motherly wings many years ago and has been a movie mate, a coffee mate, a laugh mate, and a great and loving friend to our dear Steph. We would also like to thank the outstanding doctors, nurses and office staff at Iowa Cancer Specialists and the nurses, the CNAs, the social worker, the chaplain and all of the support staff at Genesis West Medical Center Oncology Unit, who have cared for Steph with such compassion; they are truly an outstanding group of people.Rather than sending flowers, the family asks that you make a memorial donation in honor of Steph. Memorials may be made to the family, 2800 12th St., Moline, IL 61265, who will distribute the gifts in the near future to area groups and places that have brought Steph joy and support.