Even if Steve and I didn't talk all year long,  I always called him on his birthday for a catch-up chat.  It usually resulted in him sending me pictures or videos of his recent escapees.  I miss that and his creative endeavours.

How does one recount over 50 years of friendship in a few paragraphs?  I met Steve in 1968 at the University of Michigan.  I was a biology major and Steve was majoring in fine arts.  An unlikely pairing.  However, we had other interests in common beginning with skiing, cars, and motorcycles.  As the years went by, degrees were completed, careers were begun, and migrations occurred.  In 1977, I moved to Colorado and Steve followed two years later.  We were house mates for three years until marriages necessitated changes of focus.

I changed from one to four with the arrival of Chris, Amber, and Will.  Steve remained a frequent dinner guest, traveling companion, and sometimes babysitter.  While Steve and I enjoyed years of paddling whitewater together, some of our fondest memories were formed on flat water trips with Chris and I in our big canoe and Steve in one of his kayaks.  Following a couple of wonderful but somewhat familiar trips in Michigan, we found Ross Lake in the North Cascades of Washington and the Green/Colorado Rivers canyon country in Utah to be unfamiliar, stunning, and magical.  Steve and I never lost our love of muscle-powered boats and the places they can take you.

I remember Steve as quiet, extremely intelligent, and uniquely creative.  We would sometimes drive for hours without saying a word, and then something would spark an idea and we would have a stimulating conversation.  We were both gear-heads and enjoyed sharing our latest insight into what was available and how things worked.  Our last phone call with him of any length was after Julie died.  We wondered how his life would change. We are sorry we never had a chance to find out.


  Steve and I met at Art School in Ann Arbor, probably in the print department.  We ended up dating for two years in the early '70's, remaining friends after that, through grad school, and beyond.  He and Julie visited  Port Townsend Wa. when I moved there in '75.  After that,we lost touch until about six years ago when Steve found me via Facebook.  Since then we talked on the phone and exchanged snide remarks in the Facebook comment sections.

   I miss him.  I thank him for my motorcycle enthusiasm, as he taught me how to ride a dirt bike.  I thank him for my first ski trip to Vermont and a dislocated shoulder because the skis I borrowed from Julie were too long...  I can thank him for Julie's Black Current Cordial recipe, which which we  still make and pass out to friends during the holidays.  And I miss his art work, which was strong, skilled and magical.  My sense of him is that he is still around, much lighter and happier.  Yes.

Photo: Greaser and 1940's Girl of to a Halloween party (1970)

I met Steve 40 years ago kayaking in Michigan. As the nose of his kayak rescued me after I flipped, I knew we would be good friends. He was a talented, strong paddler and I always felt safe on the river with him. He invited me to see slides of the river trip he and his mom Julie took in the Grand Canyon. I marveled at the National Geographic quality of his photos and realized how creative he was. I was fascinated that Julie was one of the adventurers who rode the dory over Lava Falls while others portaged. I knew then that she and I would be good friends too.

Steve left for Colorado and Julie and I shared dinners on her deck. When Steve came home for the holidays, we had dinner at my house. I visited Steve on Primrose Lane and we paddled and hiked; he knew all the best places.  

Years passed and we kept in touch. I called on his and Julie’s birthdays. Ron and I visited them at Bonner Peak. I visited again and between hikes Steve and I worked on digging out and constructing a wall rounding the driveway into the basement garage.  

Steve helped me with artwork on business projects. He was an exceptional artist and master at creating something from nothing. At Christmas I waited for his inspirational  card. 

Four years ago I visited them for the last time and saw the studio/garage. Steve and I talked one year ago on his birthday. I called him on Julie’s birthday and realized something was wrong. It took until Thanksgiving to find some puzzle pieces of where he was hospitalized. I wrote letters and sent cards and flowers and hoped someone read them to him.  

Then in mid-December Barbara put the pieces together for me and we were hopeful that he would recover. I am deeply saddened that it was not meant to be.  He was a strong and talented athlete in kayaking, hiking, skiing and motor-cross. He had a creative, intelligent mind for the arts and prose—he was always thinking and was thought-provoking. Rest in peace Steve. A piece of my heart is with you.   


My family all knew Steve, the house on Michigan Avenue and his mom Julie. Like a brother he always kept in touch. Fond memories include a fascinating canoe trip with Steve and Drew down the Manistique River. Full of sloughs and quiet water ending with a rough ride over a fortunately small dam that bent the canoe 90 degrees and dumped us into the foul smelling water of a paper mill while Upper Peninsula fishermen looked on.
Summer days on the deck at the Michigan Avenue home, and a memorable few on the deck of the Bonner Peak home.
During the Colorado years, Steve sent many photos of life on the ranch and the Poudre River. Shared stories about water, a mountain lion, lynx, deer, snakes and horses that lived on the ranch and of course, of Nadja. 
On the last visit to the ranch I walked with Steve and Nadja in the landscape and wildflowers he loved, and shared memories with Julie. Steve was generous with his art, love of nature, photography, writing, and even a few dirt bike instructions. Garden tools from the Michigan Avenue home belonging to the McMaths are in use almost daily on our farm - full of memories. His last email included beautiful photos he had taken of the Comet Neowise.  We miss him greatly.  
Kathy and Dave Melmoth

OBITUARY

Stephen Scott McMath

12 January, 1948 – 10 January, 2021

Allnutt Funeral Service – Drake Road Chapel

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