Continuation of Max’s thoughts:

The Mormon version of a life in Jesus was pretty good except how grampa is in the spirit world waiting for passing of judgement.

The part they forgot to mention is that Jesus lived a sinless life through the only first and full blessing of the spirit *a concience/and guiding voice* and that his sinlessness is the only reason he was good for attonement.
And that I believe grandpa did that and believed that.

This is a text from Max, Steve’s grandson, whom he texted to his gramma after the funeral.

I learned a little something about cherishing life and the way you love and stuff
God created as much an afterlife as we can imagine by his good works in faith. I learned a little more about him that I did not know.
The point is you would want to do your best with the time you've got; if the spirit world is to be taken litterally as black and white or  gray; insuring maximum heavenly comfort. Whether it be black and white like hell it's comforting to know that I can always have a chance to believe and that if in faith I continue to strive to shine in God's love he and grandpa would want to see me strive to finish my journey into the Spirit's* realm in communion with God.

He loved all kinds of music from Roy Orbison and the Beatles to Phantom of the Opera and Le Miserables. He loved Sci-Fi and watched every episode of Star Trek (new and old) and all of the Star Wars series. He loved magic, watching it live and on tv and trying to perform his own tricks. However, he was a very bad magician, but he kept trying and he was entertaining. We all loved his magic tricks, but mostly because we always had a such good laugh. However, there was the one time when he successfully made an apple actually disappear.. No one was more surprised than he..
Steve also loved acting and starred in several stage productions in Idaho: The Crucible, Harvey, Carousel, Annie, Get Your Gun, and A Day, A Night, and A Day. He also wrote and directed several amature plays in the Detroit Metro area.
‘My family wishes to express our heartfelt thanks to all those who have given their support, compassion and love throughout this very difficult time. We wish to express our gratitude for all who have shared their memories with us during the last week. I know in my heart that he would not want us to be grieving for too long.  Rather, Steve would want us all to remember the good times we all shared with him.
Steve may be in heaven now, but I know he is looking down at us with a big smile on his face saying, “Forge ahead—make the best of life—and I’ll see you soon. We have work to do up here, too.” Goodbye, my dear, sweet husband, and God bless.

I have so many wonderful memories of my dad. One of my favorites is walking to the State Fair with my brother and sister and him. I don't remember the actual Fair or what we did when we got there though. What I'll miss most are all of his silly jokes, his laugh and smile. 
Til we meet again...I love you dad!

In the winter, he ran a puppet show in the basement of his family home.
When Steve was about 14 years old, he became fascinated with radio and wanted to be a DJ. His sister told me, “I don’t know where or how he got his transmitter, but he would run wires around the house and then play records and read the news from the basement while the family listened upstairs”. He then branched out and ran wires around the neighborhood and entertained his neighbors. He was still having fun with his own radio station after we were married. I pretty sure this was not legal but nobody ever reported him, and they did call in their request. You can just imagine how many records he owns.
He became a real DJ later on, starting at the bottom and working his way up. He would ride his bike out to the radio station and do whatever job that needed to be done - sweep the floor, take out the garbage, etc. Eventually, they hired him and that was the beginning of his first career.
While he was a DJ, my friends and I would ride our bikes out to the station to put in our request for certain songs. Little did I know that one day I would meet and marry the DJ.
At a small town radio station, you get to do a variety of jobs, so Steve gained experience writing and producing commercials that ran on both radio and tv stations in our community. My sister told me that those commercials were still running on the radio and tv, long after we were in Michigan. She always thought of him as a “movie star”. He also worked as the weatherman on the local tv stations. His sister said they always made sure to watch the news to hear his funny stories.
Steve worked as a copywriter for several advertising agencies in Detroit until his was almost 50 years old. At that time, he was tired of the stress of deadlines and overtime, and just wanted a 9 - 5 job. So, he began his career in sales at Orkin Pest Control until he retired.
He developed a love for music as a child and continued as an adult. 

Steve’s Eulogy by his wife, Linda

My husband was a wonderful and sometimes not-so-wonderful man. I’m not sure I can really express just how much I will miss him.
He was a good father and an even better grandfather. He loved them all. They were the joy of his life.
When we had each of our children—Kevin, Kelli, Wendy, and Courtney—he was delighted. He was even more delighted with the birth of each of our grandchildren. He was a wonderful grandfather who loved spending time reading, playing, and teaching his grandchildren.
It has been over 46 years since we were first married and I look back over those years with so much happiness. I remember the first time I saw him. He had decided to crash our Stake Activity and he brought along his date. It just so happened that it was our ward’s turn and I was in charge of the event. Even though he had a date, I made it a point to introduce myself. I was ensnared. The next day I was talking to my mother and said “I think I have met the man I should marry,” Just after I said that, the phone rang. I picked up the phone, said hello, and a voice on the other end said, “Guess who this is!” That was the beginning of what he used to jokingly call our “strange but wonderful relationship”. I would respond to that comment with “Yes, I’m wonderful and you are strange.”
Steve was somewhat reserved, but always quick with a witty remark. Although Steve was reticent, his  joviality and good nature attracted people once they knew him.
He loved to entertain and was quite the entrepreneur. When Steve was 11 years old, he built a covered wagon (using his wagon and a huge box) and would give the neighborhood children a ride around the block. He then branched out to entertainment. In the summer, he ran his own little outdoor movie for the neighborhood children using a slide projector and the garage door. The children would arrive on their tricycles and for a whopping sum of 2 cents could watch slides as he narrated.

Jan’s memory of Steve

Good morning 😃 I was so young when you and Steve moved to Michigan that I don't have many memories. I do remember thinking he was a movie star, because his voice was on TV!!! Blackfoot Motor's, I think it was. A slogan I've remembered since childhood! "How do they sell their cars and trucks so Dab Blam low?!!! 😆 He made his voice sound so different, like a cartoon character. I think that commercial ran for decades! 😊

Steve is Jan’s brother in law

I remember before Linda and Steve were married,  Steve worked for a country radio station as the disc jockey and a couple of times Linda would be asleep taking a nap so I thought I'd change the station and Linda would immediately wake up and tell me I couldn't do that cuz she was listening to his voice!😃

I also remember thinking he was so cool, always saying something funny and changing his voice to sound like the person he was trying to portray! At that last reunion Linda was in charge I played card games and throughly enjoyed playing with Kevin, he reminded me so much of Steve just the way he talked and also the same humor!💕 Loved playing cards with All the Wilson clan that was able to make that trip! So much fun, getting to know a little bit about each of them that was playing at that time! And what was really cool was his dad had this AWESOME contraption at their house down in the basement that he had made over the years! It was like a train/ball following thing I can't have the right words to describe! You started it by getting a large marble to roll and get a domino effect to start a whole conglomerate of things to happen! Truly AMAZING! After I was married and Linda and the family was visiting Steve took us over to his parents place again so Carl could see it! Then just recently within say the last 20 years (lol, yes time flies) I saw it on FB from one of the relatives through YouTube! Just wondering if it's still on YouTube and what would I look under to find it!?! 😃💕😃

Wish there hadn’t  been such a distance between our families as Linda and I grew up and both moved away to start our own lives with our own families. Miss growing old with my siblings! Take care Linda and Family! We love and miss you!💕

This is a photo of Wendy, one of his daughters and myself

Peace in difficult moments, Comfort in times of tears, Love in every memory. He’ll always be with you in your heart, in your soul, in every corner of every smile that comes with the memories of all those precious times you shared together. May God give you peace and comfort in the days ahead!

I Thank my God every time I remember you.
Philippians 1:3

Evangelist Delores E. Render
Co-worker/Friend of Linda Wilson

I may have been 9 years old or maybe a little younger than that, but I remember grandpa teaching me how to play chess.
I was never very good at it, but each time I came to stay the night with my grandparents or was just visting, I would end up playing a game with him; never winning but always improving each time we played. Until one day I finally beat him in a game, I remember the look on his face; the look of surprise and maybe even some pride.

Visitation

Funeral Service

Linda (Gallup) Wilson

Kevin (Monique) Wilson

Kelli (Edward) Topp

Wendy Wilson

Courtney (Kurt) Stevens-Veenstra

He is also survived by his Grandchildren: St. Paul Bryant, Emilee Topp, Robert Topp, Maxwell McQuade, Delaney McQuade, RB Stevens, Ava Stevens; one great-grandchild and 32 nieces and nephews. Also his Siblings – Randall and Gloria Wilson of Iona, ID, Daniel and Kathleen Keister of Portland, OR.

OBITUARY

Stephen Raymond Wilson

3 October, 1943 – 27 June, 2018

Edward Swanson & Son Funeral Home

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Updates

Services