Stephen Patrick Rider

Stephen Patrick Rider passed away peacefully in his home on March 15th, 2018 from complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease. A memorial service will be held on March 21St at 11:00am at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. Visitation will be held at the church before the service, beginning at 10:00am.

Steve was born on March 20, 1942 in Memphis, TN to Rita Kehoe and Allen Rider. He grew up in Memphis and attended Christian Brothers College, and then later earned a Master's degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. He is preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Joe Kappher and Mickey Rider. Left to cherish his memory is his wife Louise Bush Rider, daughters Lori and husband Fred Anderson, Barbara and husband Kevin Mahoney, son Tom Rider, two stepdaughters Imelda Bush King and Marie Bush Smith, and eight grandchildren, Samantha Sandusky; Michael Strohofer; Lauren, Peyton, and Mackenzie Smith; Isabelle and Annalise Rider; and Lilly King.

Steve was a Structural Engineer for Fluor Daniel Engineering Company, traveling to job destinations across the United States and various countries throughout the world. He was a well known expert and outstanding in his field of Engineering. Even after retiring he served as a consultant for many companies including projects for McCormick Spices.

Steve was a devout Catholic in every way. He ministered to the poor as a volunteer of the St. Vincent DePaul Society, ministered to the sick, visited the elderly, also served as a Lector and a Eucharistic Minister at Mass. He was a Boy Scout Leader and also coached soccer teams. He was a "giver" in every sense of the word. He considered it an honor when anyone asked for his help or advice. He repaired roofs, tiled floors, built structures, installed antennas, as well as washers and dryers, and even sinks and toilets. His hobbies were almost too numerous to count. He was an avid scuba diver, photographer, and gardener, and he played golf, tennis, frisbee golf (even built a frisbee golf course), darts, horseshoes, water skiing, carpentry, and hand carving. He hiked the Appalachian Trail, scuba dived in Bermuda, Palau, Fiji, Key West, Cozumel, the Flower Gardens, the Philippines, the Caribbean, the Atlantic and Pacific. He especially loved to film sharks, barracudas, octopus, lion fish, manta rays, and eels. Free diving for lobsters was also one of his favorites. He knew the names of every fish in the sea and was an accomplished underwater photographer. He even had his own darkroom for developing his pictures. He was a Master Gardener, and had a special interest in collecting and counting butterflies with a local organization. He was frequently called on to give talks on butterflies and he especially loved being invited to various classrooms to talk about and show videos of his ocean adventures. As if this was not enough, Steve was also a marathon runner, and avid reader, a bird watcher, and he even built telescopes.

Best of all, he loved spending time with his grandchildren and he provided them with experiences they wouldn’t have had otherwise. He took great pride in all endeavors with them from the annual hiding and searching of Easter Eggs, to teaching most of them to swim and dive. The backyard and the woods is where he spent most of his time with his adoring grandchildren, where he taught them to fish, to dig for worms, catch geckos, frogs, lizards, spiders, and to look for snakes. It really made his day if he saw a snake on one of his nature walks. His grandson, Peyton, wrote a school assignment in kindergarten saying that his favorite thing was spending time with “Buggy”, the name he fondly chose for himself.

Steve’s kind and loving heart was felt by all and his enthusiasm for everything life had to offer was relentless. He inspired us with his compassion and taught us about life and love in every way imaginable. We’ll all miss our Buggy, but the legacy he left behind will carry on. He was born on the first day of spring and he was indeed the “Breath of Spring!”

We would like to offer a special thank you to Dr. Robert Hernandez, Kristan Lyons, and Lifepath Hospice for keeping Steve’s final days peaceful.