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Steven John Strom, 72, passed away on June 19, 2023 at Accura Healthcare in Aurelia.
Memorial services will take place Saturday, July 1, at 10 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Hanover. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Alta. Visitation will take place Friday, June 30, from 5-7 p.m. at the church. Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Alta is in charge of the arrangements.
He was born on March 3, 1951 to Elmer and Jean (Duckworth) Strom in Alta. Steve married Betty Schmidt on Oct. 9, 1971 at St. John’s Church in Hanover. Steve attended Alta High School and graduated in 1969. He attended Iowa Central before joining the Air Force in 1971, serving in the Philippines before being honorably discharged in 1974. He got his bachelor’s degree at Buena Vista University in 1984. Steve worked for the Alta post office as a rural mail carrier before retiring in 2008. He also served as a volunteer firefighter in Alta for 12 years and was a trained EMT.
Steve lived life to the fullest and embraced friends, family and adventures with passion. The greatest love of his life was his family, most importantly his wife of 51 years, Betty. His three children were a source of pride and he loved them deeply. Perhaps his favorite role came later in life as Papa, the grandfather to his four beloved grandchildren, who adored him. He spent as much time as possible with his grandkids, often with all four piled on the golf cart as he gave them rides around the golf course and to the playground.
Steve liked to keep busy and was a man of many hobbies and even more side jobs. Football has always played an important role in his life, from being a diehard Hawkeyes fan to coaching junior high football for 15 years. In addition to being a rural mail carrier, he refereed high school football, umpired high school baseball and softball, sometimes drove the school bus, and briefly coached high school golf. Steve loved golfing, attending Iowa football games, snowmobiling and boating, and could often be found on the lake with his family on the weekends, playing music loudly and hoisting a giant Black Velvet and Diet Sierra Mist, always with Hy-Vee ice. He loved wearing Hawkeyes or Okoboji shirts while on vacation to start conversations. Steve was always up for a party and was usually the last to leave. He never met a stranger and was a true, loyal friend to many, including his kids’ friends. Steve was the person you relied upon in an emergency, always calm and decisive. He loved his hometown of Alta and once made the comment he “hoped he made Alta proud.”
He is survived by his wife Betty; children: Staci (Ron), Joni (Dave) and Greg (Gayle); grandchildren: Griffin and Gabrie Strom of Storm Lake, and Ava and Sophie Miller of Franklin, Tenn.; and his brother Dave of Miami, Fla.; as well as a large extended family. Steve was preceded in death by his mother and father; brother Gordon; along with sisters-in-law Kathy and Nancy; and brother-in-law Bill.
