Steve and I were ACHS 67 classmates. I extend my sincere sympathy to his family.  May knowing others are  thinking of you ease your heartache.  I am fortunate enough to have two of Steve's books. I will think of him whenever I reread them.  
 Saundra Hylton Givens 

I met Steve “many moons ago,” as he used to like to say. In the late 60s, he would come down from time to time to the OU campus to socialize with the Indian students. I didn’t really get to know him though until he began employment with the Oklahoma City Area Office - Indian Health Service as the Physician Recruiter in the late 90s. I was the USPHS Commissioned Corps Liaison at that time and we had to work closely due to the two personnel systems that were used to employ physicians. Steve did a great job of recruiting and dealt with all the complexities of the federal government systems and the pressure that went with the job.  We used to go to lunch frequently due to our common taste in foods. He would find out about a new restaurant or some exotic cuisine and we would have to try it. We had great discussions during meals mainly due to Steve’s humorous descriptions of people and situations. I’m sure that was part of Steve’s talent as a writer. In later times, he would go to OU football games with me. Most of all though, Steve was a very good friend. He was a good person and strongly religious. I always called him: ‘Pavii,’ which in Comanche means: big brother. Linda and I offer our condolences and will pray for Steve’s family.

My memories of Stephen go back almost 30 years, when I started playing soccer with his daughter, Laura, in the 5th grade. He was aways a profoundly  gentle and supportive presence at games and tournaments--strong and kind and peaceful, like his daughter, Laura. Over the years, as Laura and I grew into dear friends, I visited the Barse home often. Stephen always exuded the same quiet, steady tenderness of spirit that I remembered sensing on the soccer sidelines. He was deeply connected to his Native American heritage, and passed many beautiful traditions, rites of passage, and heirlooms on to his children, including a gorgeous buckskin dress that I remember seeing Laura proudly and radiantly wear. The Barse family was always there for me during times of my own loss, and provided me with much needed strength and comfort. Above all, I am grateful for all the ways known and unknown to me that Stephen helped shaped his daughter--there is no other friendship in my life that goes back further than the one I share with her. All of my love and blessings to Stephen, Mary, Laura, and Matthew during this painful and precious time.

I was classmates with Steve ,graduating in 1967! Prayers and my deepest sympathy to his wife and children and families!! 

Steve was one of the best friends I've had in this world. I'll miss his friendship and his good humor. He told me several years go of his battle with Parkinson's and how it took a toll on his well-being. Yet, he kept going forward. I told him then that I would run for him even if it was on a cold South Dakota winter day. We had a camaraderie. I remember that we often spent warm summer evenings  running at the old high school near our homes. I remember Steve coming by in his big SUV to pick me to go play basketball at the Catholic church hall.  I'll always cherish the memories of those days.  We became fast friends in the early 1970s. We shared a love of listening to music that no one else seemed to be listening to at the time.  I was often a guest at Steve and Mary's home in Sisseton, and it was great to just sit around and talk about everything imaginable. I'm  relieved that Steve doesn't have to suffer anymore. He's in a good place. He's at peace. Parkinson's can't touch him. My wife Colleen and our entire family in South Dakota extend our prayers and condolences to Steve's family, to Mary, to their children and grandchildren, and to all his relatives.  

We had the wonderful pleasure of publishing two of Steve's books, The Boy From Pickerel Lake and Grandson. Both are such gems. Both Betsy (wife) had used his story, Grandson, in our classes at U Minnesota Duluth for years. I never had the opportunity to meet Steve in person. We spoke over the phone and Zoomed a few times. He was a pleasure to talk with. 


Tom Peacock, Co-Publisher
Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing

OBITUARY

Stephen James Barse

September 12, 1949 – September 15, 2022

Primrose Funeral Service & Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery

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