Stephen Karl Feller

He was born on May 18, 1944 in Fredericksburg, Texas the son of Dr. Lorence and Florine Feller. He graduated in 1962 from Fredericksburg High School. Many in his graduating class had been with him since first grade and he stayed in contact with them often. He was active in high school sports and was a natural athlete. He was a two-year letterman in football and track, garnering All-District in both sports. He did play basketball but joking said that he never got much playing time on the court because he fouled out so quickly! He made life-long friends when he went to Texas Lutheran College where he was a four year letterman and co-captain in football and a four year letterman in track where he won 1st in pole vault in the Big State Conference all four years. He was a member of Kappa Pi Alpha fraternity and served as President his senior year. He graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He was a teaching assistant in chemistry at the University of Houston when he received his draft notice. He applied and was accepted into the Air Force and was a distinguished graduate of Officer Training School in San Antonio. He was in the pilot training class of 70-02 at Williams AFB in Arizona where he was #1 in academics and a distinguished graduate. He flew in the Air Force for 10 years and logged over 4900 total flying hours. He received his Master of Science in Systems Management. One of his most rewarding assignments was to mentor and recertify a pilot that had been a POW in Vietnam.

He married Carol Jean Schmidt on December 26, 1970 in Fredericksburg, while on leave. Part of the honeymoon was in New Orleans, but the second half of the trip was to Dallas to watch his younger brother Happy play in the Cotton Bowl, for the University of Texas on New Year’s Day! Two children, Heidi and Spencer were born during the Air Force years, but in 1978 Steve resigned his commission and was honorably discharged. He was hired by Southwest, then just a start-up airline. Flying was a passion for him. He was proud to say that he was hired when SWA started flights to Amarillo and got its 12th airplane. Steve was serious and meticulous when he flew, but he loved to joke and had an infectious laugh when he was off-duty. He totaled over 21,000 hours and 9600 landings in the B-737. He loved to tell stories, mostly true but often embellished. When he reached 60, he loved to say that the federal government fired him and, after seeing the shocked faces, he’d explain that the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots was 60 (since increased to 65).

Once he retired, he joked that his new profession was mowing lawns-and it wasn’t far from the truth. He started playing some golf, but truth be told, he did it more for the kidding and camaraderie. He was one of the founders of the KGB, Kingwood Golden Buzzards, a group of retired Southwest Pilots that live in Kingwood. The couples get together once a month for drinks, dinner, and dominoes. He was also a lamb and goat buyer at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and loved going to the lamb breakfast for the famous “milk punch”.

Steve was a true outdoorsman. He especially loved the first weekend of dove and deer seasons. Even if he didn’t shoot anything, he loved being in the country and, in later years, it was his great joy to watch Spencer and his friends share in his hunting enthusiasm.

Most of all, Steve loved his family. He always bragged that his older brother Wayne was the smart one, his younger brother, Happy, was the athlete and entrepreneur, and his younger sister, Judy, was the kind and caring one. He had a special place in his heart for his mother-in-law, Doodle, and they spent many hours on her front porch laughing while he tried to speak German. And his children meant the most to him in all of the world. He was so proud in all that they have accomplished and in the adults they have become. When both kids went to A&M, they jokingly called him “The Wallet” because he always paid the restaurant bill for them and any friends they brought along. Later they all just started calling him “Captain”, and he always cherished that. When Spencer married Jadah and they had two little girls, Steve was thrilled! Two year old Olivia had a special bond with him and little four month old, Abigayle, is too young, but she’ll get to know “Cap-Cap” through pictures and stories of him.

The key word to describe Steve is love-he loved God, his family, his friends, his country, his career and his life. He often said how blessed he was to have had the life he did. He is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Carol, two children, Heidi Feller and Spencer Feller, daughter-in-law, Jadah and two grandchildren, Olivia and Abigayle. He is also survived by three siblings, Wayne (Mary), Happy (Candice) and Judy (Brian). He also leaves behind cherished extended family members.

There will be two events in the honor of Steve’s memory. The Celebration of Life Memorial service will be held at Holy Comforter Lutheran Church, 1901 Woodland Hills Drive, Kingwood, Texas on June 1, 2019 at 10:00am, with a reception immediately following. An informal Celebration of Life Memorial gathering will be held at the Rock House Hideaway, 197 Rock House Drive in Fredericksburg on July 27, 2019 from 2:00pm-5:00pm.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Kingwood Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Holy Comforter Lutheran Church, Hill Country Memorial Hospital Foundation, or charity of choice.